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Today, sustainability and environmentalism are often at the forefront of urban initiatives. It seems, however, that some U.S. cities are doing better than others when it comes to being green. The 50 greenest cities were listed by Popular Science back in February 2008. According to their research, these are the top greenest cities in America.

1. Portland, OR
2. San Francisco, CA
3. Boston, MA
4. Oakland, CA
5. Eugene, OR
6. Cambridge, MA
7. Berkeley, CA
8. Seattle, WA
9. Chicago, IL
10. Austin, TX

The top 50 cities, and further rankings, were determined based on scores related to four major categories: electricity, transportation, green living, and recycling. Cities scored well in the electricity category when they drew energy from renewable resources, such as solar power. Transportation points went to cities with good public transportation systems (ie places where the population actually uses public transportation). A green living score was determined based on the number of certified buildings and lastly, recycling points went to cities with great recycling systems and programs.

But that was over two years ago. What does it mean to be a green city today, and should we still measure using the same criteria? Are the green cities listed above still the greenest? The questions can be answered based on a new 2010 study done by the Business Courier of Cincinnati. According to the new research, here are the top ten green cities of 2010.

1. Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA
2. San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA
3. Honolulu, HI
4. Austin-Round Rock, TX
5. Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH
6. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA
7. Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. Albuquerque, NM
10. Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY

Cities were ranked using the ACBJ’s Green City Index. Basically, the index aggregates sustainability information from other reliable sources.. The index incorporates a significant number of external statistics, such as number of Energy Star rated facilities (from the US EPA) and carbon emissions data (from the Brookings Institute). Looking at these two lists, we can determine that places like Portland, San Francisco, and Boston are some of the greenest cities in the United States. Further within these green cities, there are especially sustainable districts and neighborhoods. For example, it’s no wonder that people look for Jamaica Plain condos (Boston, MA). With many parks, such as the Arnold Aboretum, the neighborhood is constantly cited as one of Boston's greenest and most desirable.