2. An Overview and Key Findings
The Future Metropolis Index recognizes cities that demonstrate smart
urban planning and policymaking.
America’s cities are the economic engines of the country and a driving
source of optimism.
San Francisco is the 2012 leading future metropolis. With high marks
across all five dimensions – innovation, sustainability, vibrancy and
creativity, efficiency, livability and optimism – San Francisco ranks at the
top in the overall index.
The research also shows that urban living correlates with higher levels of
optimism about the economic future. Americans living in metro areas are
more likely to be optimistic about job prospects than those living in non-
metro areas.
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3. Key Findings (cont’d)
Cities along the East and West coast top the list. Following behind San
Francisco are Seattle and Washington, DC, along with Portland, Boston
and New York respectively.
The most sustainable cities are in the West with higher percentages of
bike lanes (Tucson) and hybrid cars (San Francisco).
The Northeast can boast the most efficient cities. Washington, DC, New
York and Boston top the list with their public transportation systems;
Atlanta and San Francisco follow closely.
San Francisco shines vibrantly, with its arts-related businesses and jobs
and many park acres across the city.
El Paso leads in livability. El Paso grabs the number-one spot as most
livable due to its lowest homicide rate and second lowest burglary rate,
while it falls in the bottom half for all other dimensions.
Atlanta is at the top tier of innovative cities with the most universities
and hot spots per 100,000 residents; Pittsburgh follows closely.
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4. Methodology Overview
Data collected for 36 U.S. cities (based on population size)
Publicly available data was used for most sources and converted to a per-
capita basis, to equalize and standardize scores
Data was rescaled to further equalize/standardize scores
Data was collected July 2011 – January 2012
Survey and research were conducted by KRC Research, a full-service market
and opinion research firm
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5. Methodology Overview (cont’d)
Cities were evaluated on the following dimensions as they are values that align
with Zipcar’s mission:
Innovation was measured on number of free, publicly available wireless
hotspots per 10,000 residents as well as number of accredited post-
secondary degree-granting institutions per 10,000 residents.
Sustainability was measured on miles of bike lanes and paths per 100,000
residents and percent of hybrid cars among the total registered cars.
Vibrancy and Creativity were measured on park acres as a percent of city
land area, arts-related jobs per 1,000 residents, and arts-related businesses
per 1,000 residents.
Efficiency was measured on the number of workers using public/commuter
transportation as a percent of the total workforce and the number of public
transportation rides/passenger trips as a percent of area population.
Livability and Optimism were measured on unemployment rate, violent
crime rate (homicide per 100,000 residents), and property crime rate
(burglaries per 100,000 residents).
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6. Overall Index Ranking and Score
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
San Francisco, CA 1 86 Phoenix, AZ 18 44
Seattle, WA 2 81 Baltimore, MD 20 43
Washington, DC 2 81 Dallas, TX 21 40
Portland, OR 4 79 Milwaukee, WI 22 39
Boston, MA 5 77 Kansas City, MO 22 39
New York, NY 6 72 El Paso, TX 24 38
Atlanta, GA 7 68 Charlotte, NC 25 37
Denver, CO 8 63 Houston, TX 26 34
Pittsburgh, PA 9 62 San Antonio, TX 26 34
Austin, TX 10 60 Las Vegas, NV 28 33
San Diego, CA 10 60 Oklahoma City, OK 29 32
Albuquerque, NM 12 57 Louisville-Jefferson, KY 29 32
Philadelphia, PA 13 55 Jacksonville, FL 29 32
Los Angeles, CA 14 53 Fort Worth, TX 32 30
San Jose, CA 15 50 Columbus, OH 33 29
Nashville-Davidson, TN 16 45 Indianapolis, IN 34 26
Tucson, AZ 16 45 Memphis, TN 34 26
Chicago, IL 18 44 Detroit, MI 36 20
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7. Index Ranking and Dimension Score
Index Ranking City Innovation Sustainability Vibrancy/Creativity Efficiency Livability
1 San Francisco, CA 84 94 96 81 75
2 Seattle, WA 83 82 92 73 73
2 Washington, DC 91 79 92 100 43
4 Portland, OR 86 95 84 57 71
5 Boston, MA 95 44 74 98 73
6 New York, NY 40 63 78 99 81
7 Atlanta, GA 99 40 83 94 24
8 Denver, CO 90 48 59 45 73
9 Pittsburgh, PA 96 32 57 69 57
10 Austin, TX 37 82 74 31 74
10 San Diego, CA 38 77 75 33 77
12 Albuquerque, NM 20 92 83 26 67
13 Philadelphia, PA 62 37 51 81 43
14 Los Angeles, CA 23 61 73 51 56
15 San Jose, CA 38 79 32 29 72
Nashville-Davidson,
16 TN 49 40 57 25 55
16 Tucson, AZ 27 96 18 28 57
18 Chicago, IL 34 27 36 80 43
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9. Innovation Ranking and Scores
Innovation Top 5
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Pittsburgh, PA
Atlanta is at the top tier of innovative
3. Boston, MA cities with the most universities and hot
4. Washington, DC spots per residents; Pittsburgh follows
closely
5. Denver, CO
Boston’s universities help it secure the
third spot on our innovation list
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10. Innovation Ranking and Scores (cont’d)
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
Atlanta, GA 1 99 Austin, TX 19 37
Pittsburgh, PA 2 96 Chicago, IL 20 34
Boston, MA 3 95 Phoenix, AZ 21 32
Washington, DC 4 91 Dallas, TX 21 32
Denver, CO 5 90 Detroit, MI 23 31
Portland, OR 6 86 Columbus, OH 24 30
San Francisco, CA 7 84 Oklahoma City, OK 24 30
Seattle, WA 8 83 Indianapolis, IN 26 29
Kansas City, MO 9 78 Charlotte, NC 26 29
Baltimore, MD 10 67 Tucson, AZ 28 27
Philadelphia, PA 11 62 Jacksonville, FL 29 24
Milwaukee, WI 12 55 Los Angeles, CA 30 23
Nashville-Davidson, TN 13 49 Las Vegas, NV 30 23
Memphis, TN 14 45 San Antonio, TX 32 21
New York, NY 15 40 Albuquerque, NM 33 20
San Jose, CA 16 38 Houston, TX 34 18
Louisville-Jefferson, KY 16 38 Fort Worth, TX 34 18
San Diego, CA 16 38 El Paso, TX 36 10
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11. Sustainability Ranking and Score
Sustainability Top 5 The West wins. The top five sustainable
cities are in the West, with the
1. Tucson, AZ exception of Austin
2. Portland, OR Tucson ranks highest for sustainability
3. San Francisco, CA with the most miles of bike lanes per
10,000 residents
4. Albuquerque, NM
San Francisco takes the lead on
5. Seattle, WA percentage of hybrid cars followed by
6. Austin, TX Seattle
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12. Sustainability Ranking and Score (cont’d)
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
Tucson, AZ 1 96 Baltimore, MD 19 40
Portland, OR 2 95 Jacksonville, FL 20 38
San Francisco, CA 3 94 Philadelphia, PA 21 37
Albuquerque, NM 4 92 El Paso, TX 22 33
Seattle, WA 5 82 Oklahoma City, OK 23 32
Austin, TX 5 82 Pittsburgh, PA 23 32
San Jose, CA 7 79 Milwaukee, WI 25 31
Washington, DC 7 79 Louisville-Jefferson, KY 26 30
San Diego, CA 9 77 Dallas, TX 27 29
Phoenix, AZ 10 66 Kansas City, MO 27 29
New York, NY 11 63 Columbus, OH 29 27
Los Angeles, CA 12 61 Chicago, IL 29 27
Las Vegas, NV 13 51 Fort Worth, TX 31 26
Denver, CO 14 48 Houston, TX 32 24
Boston, MA 15 44 San Antonio, TX 33 21
Charlotte, NC 16 41 Indianapolis, IN 33 21
Atlanta, GA 17 40 Memphis, TN 35 18
Nashville-Davidson, TN 17 40 Detroit, MI 36 14
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13. Vibrancy/Creativity Ranking and Score
Vibrancy/Creativity Top 5
San Francisco shines vibrantly, with its
1. San Francisco, CA arts-related businesses/jobs & a top 10
spot for park acres
2. Seattle, WA
3. Washington, DC Atlanta leads in arts-related jobs;
Seattle in arts-related businesses
4. Portland, OR
Washington, DC and Portland score well
5. Atlanta, GA across all measures for vibrancy
5. Albuquerque, MN Albuquerque leads with the most park
acres as % of city land
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14. Vibrancy/Creativity Ranking and Score (cont’d)
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
San Francisco, CA 1 96 Chicago, IL 19 36
Seattle, WA 2 92 Phoenix, AZ 19 36
Washington, DC 2 92 Charlotte, NC 21 33
Portland, OR 4 84 El Paso, TX 21 33
Atlanta, GA 5 83 San Jose, CA 23 32
Albuquerque, NM 5 83 Baltimore, MD 24 31
New York, NY 7 78 San Antonio, TX 25 30
San Diego, CA 8 75 Milwaukee, WI 25 30
Boston, MA 9 74 Jacksonville, FL 25 30
Austin, TX 9 74 Columbus, OH 28 29
Los Angeles, CA 11 73 Indianapolis, IN 29 27
Dallas, TX 12 65 Fort Worth, TX 30 24
Denver, CO 13 59 Oklahoma City, OK 31 23
Nashville-Davidson, TN 14 57 Memphis, TN 32 20
Pittsburgh, PA 14 57 Las Vegas, NV 33 19
Philadelphia, PA 16 51 Tucson, AZ 34 18
Houston, TX 17 45 Detroit, MI 35 17
Kansas City, MO 18 39 Louisville-Jefferson, KY 36 14
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15. Efficiency Ranking and Score
Efficiency Top 5
1. Washington, DC
2. New York, NY East coast cities are most efficient;
3. Boston, MA Washington, DC, New York and Boston
top the list
4. Atlanta, GA
Washington, DC and New York have the
5. San Francisco, CA highest proportion of commuters using
5. Philadelphia, PA public transportation
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16. Efficiency Ranking and Score (cont’d)
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
Washington, DC 1 100 Houston, TX 18 31
New York, NY 2 99 Dallas, TX 18 31
Boston, MA 3 98 San Jose, CA 21 29
Atlanta, GA 4 94 Phoenix, AZ 21 29
San Francisco, CA 5 81 Charlotte, NC 21 29
Philadelphia, PA 5 81 Kansas City, MO 24 28
Chicago, IL 7 80 Tucson, AZ 24 28
Seattle, WA 8 73 San Antonio, TX 24 28
Pittsburgh, PA 9 69 Louisville-Jefferson, KY 27 27
Baltimore, MD 10 66 Columbus, OH 27 27
Portland, OR 11 57 Albuquerque, NM 29 26
Los Angeles, CA 12 51 Nashville-Davidson, TN 30 25
Denver, CO 13 45 Memphis, TN 30 25
Detroit, MI 14 40 El Paso, TX 30 25
Milwaukee, WI 15 39 Indianapolis, IN 33 24
Las Vegas, NV 16 38 Jacksonville, FL 33 24
San Diego, CA 17 33 Fort Worth, TX 35 23
Austin, TX 18 31 Oklahoma City, OK 36 22
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17. Livability/Optimism Ranking and Score
Livability/Optimism
Top 5
1. El Paso, TX El Paso leads in livability due to the
lowest homicide rates and second
2. New York, NY lowest burglary rates after New York
3. San Diego, CA Despite the Great Recession, Austin
4. San Francisco, CA fares better with relatively lower
unemployment rates
5. Austin, TX
San Diego’s low crime rate earns it a
spot among the top 5
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18. Livability/Optimism Ranking and Score (cont’d)
City Ranking Score City Ranking Score
El Paso, TX 1 87 Phoenix, AZ 18 55
New York, NY 2 81 Houston, TX 20 53
San Diego, CA 3 77 Oklahoma City, OK 21 51
San Francisco, CA 4 75 Louisville-Jefferson, KY 22 49
Austin, TX 5 74 Dallas, TX 23 44
Boston, MA 6 73 Chicago, IL 24 43
Seattle, WA 6 73 Philadelphia, PA 24 43
Denver, CO 6 73 Washington, DC 24 43
San Jose, CA 9 72 Jacksonville, FL 24 43
Portland, OR 10 71 Milwaukee, WI 28 38
San Antonio, TX 11 68 Las Vegas, NV 29 34
Albuquerque, NM 12 67 Columbus, OH 30 30
Fort Worth, TX 13 57 Indianapolis, IN 31 27
Tucson, AZ 13 57 Atlanta, GA 32 24
Pittsburgh, PA 13 57 Kansas City, MO 33 22
Los Angeles, CA 16 56 Memphis, TN 34 21
Charlotte, NC 16 56 Baltimore, MD 35 12
Nashville-Davidson, TN 18 55 Detroit, MI 36 0
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20. Key Findings
Half of Americans foresee a brighter economic future in their
communities, but are doubtful their communities will be safer from
violent crime.
– Americans are more optimistic about future employment prospects and income
growth than they are about a decline in crime rates in their communities.
• One in two Americans (52%) say they agree (either strongly agree or somewhat
agree) that household incomes in their communities will increase in three years, and
nearly as many (49%) also agree that job opportunities will also rise in their
communities.
• That said, only a third (35%) believe the amount of crimes will decrease in their
communities and nearly half (45%) say they disagree that crime rates will decrease in
their communities.
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21. Key Findings
Optimism is higher in metro areas. Americans living in metro areas are
more likely to be optimistic about job prospects than those living in non-
metro areas.
– Half of those living in metro areas (53%) say the number of job opportunities in
their communities will increase compared to four in ten of those living in non-
metro areas (39%).
– More than four in ten (45%) of those living in non-metro areas disagree that
household incomes will increase compared to a third (34%) of those living in
metro areas.
Optimism Around Job Growth
60%
40%
20%
0%
Metro Areas Non-Metro Areas
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22. Looking into the future, one in two Americans believe income and job
opportunities will increase three years from now.
Q. Next, I am going to read you a few statements about the future of your community, and I’d like to know whether you
agree or disagree with each statement.*
Three years from now…
% Neither
% Agree agree nor
disagree
Household income in
my community will -19% -19% 18% 34%
INCREASE 3 years 52% 8%
from now
Number of job opportunities
in my community will
-18% -23% 16% 33%
INCREASE three years from 49% 7%
now
Amount of violent
crime in my
community will -26% -19% 15% 21%
35% 16%
DECREASE three
years from now
Somewhat Strongly Strongly Somewhat
disagree disagree agree agree
*Results are based on a nationally representative telephone survey of 1,006 adults , ages 18 and over, conducted October 13-16, 2011. The margin of
error for the overall study is +/- 3.1% at the 95% confidence level.
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23. Appendix: Sources for Index
Innovation
Number of hotspots: JiWire Global Wi-Fi Finder. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. <http://v4.jiwire.com/search-wifi-hotspots.htm?>.
For the number of universities per city , a list was taken from: Universities: The Database of Accredited Postsecondary Institutions and Programs.” U.S. Department of
Education. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://ope.ed.gov/accreditation/GetDownloadFile.aspx>. The websites of all institutions taken from this list were checked to confirm that
the institutions were post-secondary degree-granting institutions within city limits.
Sustainability
Bicycle lanes and paths per 100,000 residents: "League of American Bicyclists * American Community Survey 2009, Bicycle Commuting Trends." League of American
Bicyclists. http://www.bikeleague.org/resources/reports/acs09_commuter_trends_cities.php>. For Columbus, OH, please see: "Columbus Bicentennial Bikeways Master
Plan." American Trails - Your National Resource for Trails and Greenways. Americantrails.org. Web. 22 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.americantrails.org/resources/trans/Columbus-Ohio-Bikeways-Master-Plan.html>. For Oklahoma City, OK, please see: United States. The City of Oklahoma
Planning Department. Oklahoma City Bicycle Transportation Plan. The City of Oklahoma, 10 Apr. 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2011.
<http://www.okc.gov/planning/documents/bicycle%20transportation%20plan%20final%20adopted.pdf>.
Hybrid car data purchased from R. L. Polk & Company 2011 based on hybrid car analysis of vehicle registration data in each city.
Vibrancy/Creativity
For percent of arts-related jobs and percent of arts-related businesses per 10,000 residents, please see: Americans for the Arts, 2011
.<http://www.AmericansForTheArts.org/CreativeIndustries>.
For the park acres as a percent of city land, please see: “2010 City Parks Facts.” The Trust for Public Land. http://cloud.tpl.org/pubs/ccpe_CityParkFacts_2010.pdf
Efficiency
For the percent of workforce that commutes via public transportation see: "2010 American Community Survey." American FactFinder.
<http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml>.
For the number of unlinked trips on public transportation, please see: American Public Transportation Association; 2011 Public Transportation Fact Book, Appendix B:
Transit Agency and Urbanized Area Operating Statistics. Table 3: Agency Total All Modes Combined Unlinked Passenger Trips and passenger Miles (Data for NTD Report Year
2009).
Livability/Optimism
For homicide and burglary rates, see http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2010/crime-in-the-u.s.-2010/tables/10tbl08.xls/view. Note Indianapolis did not
submit data in 2010 and 2009 data was used for homicide and burglary rates.
For unemployment rates, see Bureau of Labor Statistics: http://www.bls.gov/lau/lacilg10.htm“ and for Pittsburgh, see American Fact Finder 2 (2010 American Community
Survey 1-Year Estimates | Pittsburgh city, PA) http://factfinder2.census.gov2010.
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