Shipshape, green and Bristol-fashion

• West Country city rated UK's most sustainable • Recycling, composting and cycling earn No 1 spot
Steven Morris
guardian.co.uk, Monday November 10 2008 00.01 GMT
The Guardian, Monday November 10 2008

Bristol is today crowned as the UK's most sustainable city, knocking Brighton and Hove off the top spot. It heads a table of 20 British cities drawn up by experts who looked at indicators such as environmental performance, quality of life and readiness for challenges ahead.
Brighton is second, followed by Plymouth, Newcastle and Cardiff. Hull props up the table while Liverpool, Birmingham, Glasgow and Wolverhampton are also in the bottom five. The table and report are compiled by the sustainable development group Forum for the Future and are designed to help city leaders and citizens assess how they are doing on sustainability issues and how they can do better.
Bristol, which was named the UK's first cycling city earlier this year and was given £11m of government money to encourage more cycling, snatched top place thanks in part to its increase in recycling and composting. But the Forum for the Future's report says everyone it spoke to in Bristol complained about public transport.
Another success story is Newcastle upon Tyne, which rose four places, again thanks to its improvement in recycling. The report says: "Newcastle is a post-industrial city that could be expected to be disadvantaged next to its more prosperous southern counterparts. The city performed well on the future-proofing measures, suggesting that it is developing with sustainability firmly in mind."
Despite Newcastle's success, the data suggests a clear north-south divide. In general, the foot of the table is dominated by cities from the north of England.
The authors admit this does not necessarily mean people are happier in the south than the north. They point out that the people of Liverpool take great pride in their city, even though it is 19th in the table.
Leicester shot six places up the table, from 14 to eight, thanks in part to the council's commitment to tackling climate change. London held its position of 10th.
The index has 13 indicators in three areas: environment, quality of life, and future-proofing. Indicators include air quality and ecological footprint (environment); education and unemployment (quality of life); and authority commitments to climate change (future-proofing).
The report says that not even the UK's best-performing cities can match international leaders such as Stockholm, Portland in the US, and Curitiba in Brazil.
Bristol's top spot is a second boost in a few days. Last week it was the only UK city shortlisted for the European green capital award. Council leader Helen Holland said: "Our vision is to make Bristol a truly green capital with a more sustainable future for everyone."
Top and bottom
1 (3) Bristol2 (1) Brighton3 (4) Plymouth4 (8) Newcastle5 (6) Cardiff6 (2) Edinburgh 7 (7) Sheffield8 (14) Leicester9 (11) Nottingham10 (10) London11 (9) Bradford12 (17) Coventry13 (13) Sunderland14 (5) Leeds15 (12) Manchester16 (16) Wolverhampton17 (15) Glasgow18 (19) Birmingham19 (20 )Liverpool 20 (18) Hull
Last year's rankings in brackets