Grist.org Special Series Examines Surprising Cities Going for Green Grades

SEATTLE, WA -- Grist.org, the world's leading source of environmental news and commentary online, points out signs of unexpected urban progress in a new special series, Smart(ish) Cities. Sure, everyone knows about the honor students in the smart-city realm: Portland, Seattle, Chicago. But what about the C students? Grist dedicates this series to them. These "problem-child" places -- like Phoenix, Cleveland, and Atlanta -- won't be appearing in a Top 10 list of green cities anytime soon, but it doesn't mean they're not trying.

In this special series, which runs from May 12 through May 16, Grist analyzes what makes a metropolis "smart" and explores those urban areas previously written off as they study up on sustainability and set out to make the green grade against all odds. Highlights from the series include:

• How Smart Is Your City: An urban-dweller's pop quiz
• What's a Sustainable City, Anyway? by James Elsen, SustainLane CEO, who explains how the group puts its U.S. city rankings together
• Can desert-devouring Phoenix save itself? by Lisa Selin Davis, blogger for Plenty magazine and the Huffington Post
• How three more Southwest cities are changing
• Despite drought and sprawl, Atlanta may have a prayer, by Robert DiGiacomo, who has contributed to CNN.com and Boston Globe
• How three more Southeast cities are changing
• Cleveland emerging from the doldrums, by Kristine Hansen, whose work has appeared in Gourmet, Yoga Journal, and American Way
• How three more Rust Belt cities are changing
• Advice from urban-planning experts on how to make your own city more sustainable
• Where do we go from here? A series reflection on cities, sustainability, and the future

Smart(ish) Cities aims to show how these C-student cities are discovering the brighter, greener futures that await those that do their homework and stay awake in class. By the end of the series, readers will be able to use what they've learned as both a rubric for measuring their own cities' green grades and a cheat sheet for improving those scores.

About Grist
The nonprofit, independent, online magazine Grist (www.grist.org) was founded in April 1999, and over the past nine years has developed the most recognizable voice in environmental journalism: funny, opinionated, and intelligent. Grist offers in-depth reporting, opinions, book reviews, advice, and a popular blog -- all tailored to inform, entertain, provoke, and encourage its readers to think creatively about environmental problems and solutions.

Each month, Grist reaches over 700,000 unique individuals through its website and emails, and it has enjoyed particular success among readers in their 20s and 30s. Through syndication arrangements with other media outlets like MSNBC.com and Salon.com, Grist is reaching an even broader audience that extends into the millions. Grist has been featured in Time, Vanity Fair, the New York Times, Newsweek, and dozens of other national publications. Grist earned Webby™ People's Voice awards in both 2005 and 2006 as the internet's best magazine.

Back to the Press Room.