Having recently moved from Toronto to San Francisco, it wasn’t hard to miss the difference in trash and litter between the two cities.  I wouldn’t say Toronto is completely spotless, but it certainly is a heck of a lot cleaner than San Francisco which can be quite dingy in a lot of places.  Yet, according to Travel and Leisure’s recent list of America’s Dirtiest Cities, San Francisco only ranks as the 12th dirtiest.  The winner of this not so prestigious award: New Orleans (pictured above).  Yet, while this distinction is certainly not a favorable one, one look at the list reveals that the dirtiest cities also tend to be some of the most exciting cities as well.  So while Indianapolis, Indiana may not be on the top 20 list of dirtiest cities, it is very unlikely to make the top 20 for excitement or livability as well.  The top 5 dirtiest cities in America are listed below:

1) New Orleans

2) Philadelphia

3) Los Angeles

4) Memphis

5) New York City

• Industrial: 14.1%
• Office: 16.4%
• Retail: 13.1%
• Multi-Family: 6.0%

When broken up by metropolitan areas, it becomes apparent who the real winners and losers are.  San Francisco may be the true winner as it is among the top ten in the lowest vacancy rates for all four categories:

• Industrial: 10.9%
• Office: 12.3%
• Retail: 5.9%
• Multi-Family: 4.0%

On the opposite side of the spectrum is Detroit, which once again has high numbers in all four categories:

• Industrial: 19.4%
• Office: 25.7%
• Retail: 17.5%
• Multi-Family: 9.2%

But perhaps, when comparing Detroit’s number to the national numbers, it becomes apparent that the real losers are many of those smaller cities not listed.

To check out the Commercial Real Estate Outlook Report, click the link below:

Commercial Real Estate Outlook Report

Image provided by Flickr user djKianoosh

Anyone that knows me knows that I love lists.  I have already posted several entries regarding various list including America’s Most Walkable Major Cities and America’s Drunkest Cities.  Well, I have another list for you courtesy of  Infrastructurist: The World’s 10 Greatest Large Urban Park.   At first glance, the list does have many of the usual suspects: Central Park, Hyde Park and Stanley Park.   However, there were some very surprising entries, perhaps the most surprising being the rather small Luxembourg Gardens in Paris.  Anyways, take a look at the list.  It doesn’t necessarily go into too much detail but is a fun read and includes some great aerials of each park.

Men’s Health has compiled a list ranking cities in the United States on their level on intoxication.  Interesting.  And while you’re first guess for the drunkest may be New Orleans or Las Vegas, the winner is actually Fresno, California.   Reno, Nevada and Billings, Montana round out the top 3.  The least intoxicated city in the States?  Boston, Massachussetts.   As soon as I read the list, I just had to know how it was possibly compiled.  According to U.S.A. today, the list “drew upon such data as death rates from alcoholic liver disease, booze-fueled car crashes, frequency of binge-drinking in the past month, number of DUI arrests, and severity of DUI penalties.”

Drunkest Cities:

1. Fresno, California
2. Reno, Nevada
3. Billings, Montana
4. Riverside, California
5. Austin, Texas

Least Drunk Cities:

1. Boston, Massachussetts
2. Yonkers, New York
3. Rochester, New York
4. Salt Lake City, Utah
5. Miami, Florida

While the list shouldn’t be taken too terribly seriously, it does provide some solid insight and some real surprises.  You can check out the full list over at U.S.A. Today.

• Affordable (< 3.0)
• Moderately Unaffordable (3.1 – 4.0)
• Seriously Unaffordable (4.1 – 5.0)
• Severely Unaffordable (> 5.0)

The most affordable cities were generally those that have high crime rates and a high degree of vacancies.  These include such places as Detroit (1.6), Indianapolis (2.2), and Cleveland (2.4).   However, some less devastated regions throughout United States and Canada still fit into the affordable category including Atlanta (2.1), Houston (2.9) and Dallas (2.7).

On the opposite side of the scale, Vancouver ranked as the most unaffordable metropolitan area at a whopping 9.3 ratio.  Sydney was second at a 9.1 and the Sunshine Coast down in Australia rounded out the top 3 at a 9.0.  Interestingly, while New York City and San Francisco may have the highest cost of living, their higher income levels somewhat make up for this giving them a ratio of 7.0.

A lot of this isn’t anything new, however it does provide an exceptional and entertaining reference for anyone looking to move sometime in the near future.  You can find the full pdf on the Demographia International site.

Recently, the site unveiled its rankings of the 40 largest cities in the United States based squarely off their walk score.  The results are not particularly surprising, but are definitely interesting.  As one can expect, the denser cities usually offer greater walking opportunities whereas the more suburban based ones typically have far fewer of these opportunities.  It’s all a matter of personal taste, but if you are the type that enjoys having many conveniences within walking distances, a far more walkable city typically makes more sense.  The top 5 cities are as follows:

1. San Francisco (86/100)
2. New York City (83/100)
3. Boston (79/100)
4. Chicago (76/100)
5. Philadelphia (74/100)

For those interested in seeing the complete list, you can click here.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user gordmckenna

I for one do get a bit tired of the constant barrage of most livable city rankings.  The criteria is often incomplete, but there is no question that they are at least somewhat interesting.  The most recent rankings comes to us from the Economist.  And like the past couple of years, Australia and Canada dominate.  This year, Vancouver takes the cake as the most livable (perhaps due to the fact that it’s now a bit more affordable than it has been for a while?).  But there are some very strong contenders in the top ten including Vienna, Melbourne, Toronto, Perth, Calgary, Helsinki, Geneva, Sydney and Zurich.

For those who do not know much about these rankings, the most livable city rankings base their scores (out of 100) off the typical day to day lives within these cities and our interaction with them.  Criteria includes such things as infrastructure, cost of living, urbanity, etc.  As a Canadian, all I can say is really proud of how our cities rank.  One other interesting note is the lack of American cities in the top ten.  Finally, the bottom 10 cities is rounded out by several African and Southeast Asian cities.  To see the top 10 and bottom 10, click here.  For those that want to see the full list, it looks like you may need to pay more.

Check out the full study here