Green Vacation Travel
Cities

Cities are a problem for environmentalists. On the one hand, cities allow for more efficient use of space. Less land is taken up by people allowing more land to remain green. On the other hand, the items associated with cities, polution, sewage, traffic, noise, paving, are all accentuated here. It's sort of a Ying / Yang relationship.

Additionally, traveling to these cities is also more efficient than people traveling to smaller destinations. Simply put, mass transit is more ecologically friendly than everyone doing it on their own using wasteful methods. We're presuming that people will not simply choose to walk to these far-flung destinations.

That being said, there is a need to understand cities and how they operate. Activities can be undertaken by cities to improve the environment and to reduce the negative impacts of an urban lifestyle. A green traveler will want to reward positive behavior and avoid places that are not environmentally conscious.

Pollution
Pollution in cities comes from a variety of sources that can be reduced. Automobiles, of course, are a major contributor to pollution. They can be reduced through improved mass transit as well as making riding alone more difficult. Some cities have HOV lanes, carpool lanes and special subsidies for mass transit. The more creative the program, usually the larger the impact. Industrial pollutants also must be dealt with. This means that a strong environmental policy from the city is required.

Waste Management
Some urban areas have gotten creative with their waste management. From landfills to recycling to using waste in cogen facilities to generate power. Likewise, landfills often generate methane which can be used to generate power as well.

'Pave Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot'
The cities cause a lot of problems simply from the amount of green space taken away and turned into pavement. Some cities have been working to reduce this impact, such as Boston with their Big Dig project opening up some green space. Cities with major projects to help make the urban area more a part of the environment than a destroyer is a good thing.

Power Generation
There are a variety of sources of energy. Some are much cleaner than others. What form of power generation a city uses largely drives how environmentally successful a city can be. Those utilizing renewable sources of energy, like hydroelectric or solar power, are a lot less harmful to the environment than those using coal burning plants, for instance.

In our section for destinations, we have provided some links above to a few cities for a short discussion on some activities being taken or things that can be done in these cities to either benefit the environment or to enjoy the environment that is there.

Feel free to browse this website to find additional information about your green vacation travel choices. Not only ways of reducing the impact of your trip, but also alternatives for the purpose. From Ecotravel to Volunteer Vacations, there are choices that you can make that can expose you to a new world or even benefit the environment.