Urban Environment

Here are some interesting stats for Oklahoma City from Earthdaynetwork's urban environment report:

OKC ranked 34 out of the 72 cities ranked. Their ranking is about the amount of population affected by environmental change. It seems pretty complex and nebulous at best to understand. However, in the fine details there is some interesting numbers:


Recycling Rate of (1997) 12%
% of Municipal waste recycled by state 3% with a state ranking of 48
% Change in Municipal Solid Waste Generated (1997 to 2004) state ranking of 48
% Change in State Recycling Rate (1997 to 2004) state ranking of 46

The information is dated, but the EDN detail report of Oklahoma City also has some information on watersheds and water pollution.

Other anecdotal notes:

36.62 miles of highway per registered vehicle

close to 1% use public transportation or walking or biking to work, OKC ranked almost bottom of the 72 ranked cities.

23% of children under age 18 living in poverty

Average # of parks per square mile is .2 ranking 47 out of top 72 cities
6.5% tree canopy

no state climate action plan
no green building standards for state buildings

Facts and statistics don't always tell the whole story, but I'm really not surprised by what I read in the report.