1. Reykjavik, Iceland
Reykjavik is the smallest amazing green city on our list, with only about 115,000 people living in the city and roughly 300,000 people in the entire country of Iceland. But its impact on the world has been impressive.
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Reykjavik, Iceland has colorful rooftops and a green plan for power.
Iceland plans to unplug itself from all dependence on fossil fuels by 2050 to become a hydrogen economy. Already, Reykjavik (and all of Iceland) gets energy for heat, hot water and electricity entirely from hydropower and geothermal resources -- both of which are renewable and free of greenhouse gas emissions. Some vehicles even run on hydrogen, including three city buses.
These five amazing cities are only a snapshot of the greenification of urban areas around the world. Many others are also working to reduce their energy consumption, adopt environmentally friendly urban development practices and embrace green living lifestyles -- each greening the world one city at a time.
In the middle of the oil-soaked Middle East, the emirate of Abu Dhabi is spending $15 billion to build an eco-friendly emerald city: Masdar City.
Masdar will make use of progressive sustainable and renewable resources including solar, wind power and biofuels for energy and water purification, as well as underground light rail transportation. Construction on Masdar broke ground in early 2008, and it should be completed in the next decade. The city will be a 2-square-mile (5-square-kilometer) zero-emission community with about 40,000 to 50,000 residents. (To learn more, read Is a zero-carbon, zero-waste, zero-car city on the horizon?)
