SA's ranking in Sustainable Cities in America

[Chaka]

Interesting link.

On the issue of housing affordability, there are 4 Texas cities at the top. Do these sorts of rankings take into account property taxes? It seems Texas has cheaper houses but with higher taxes, that would be misleading.

Also, why the average rather than the median? Stats can be so misleading in things like this - the mean may be $89K, but presumably that's taking into account all the dilapidated shacks in the less desirable neighborhoods, which likely draw that mean down substantially. I'm all for buying such places, but its misleading to think those $40-50K homes might be livable without a lot more $ put into them. Do any of you real estate gurus know that if you were to take only "livable" homes - as in not requiring extensive repair/renovation - the average would still be $89K?

As for being a sustainable city, I agree 33rd is pretty low. Better than 34th....but I'd like to be higher. Perhaps we should take some clues from the top 10 and see how we can improve.

[traficdogn]

Originally Posted by Chaka

As for being a sustainable city, I agree 33rd is pretty low. Better than 34th....but I'd like to be higher. Perhaps we should take some clues from the top 10 and see how we can improve.

"Some of the areas where San Antonio needs improvement, however, includes having a comprehensive plan to control urban sprawl."

That is probably our biggest problem. Enough with the bond elections, and start implementing impact fees. If the growth can't pay for itself, then its not sustainable.