The Job Of Ranking Cities

Every year, Bert Sperling and his small team of researchers get to decide which are the best places to live, work, play, and even love.

1 minute read

May 6, 2007, 9:00 AM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"Every so often, a report comes out listing the best (or worst) cities to live in, the most romantic, the most child-friendly or the most affordable.

The cities at the top gloat; those at the bottom ignore the findings or dismiss them as skewed or irrelevant."

"But in one part of the country, little changes. The man responsible for many of those rankings, Bert Sperling, continues to plug away, dividing his time between Portland and Depoe Bay, Ore., compiling yet more data for yet more lists, just as he has for the last 20 years.

But who is Bert Sperling? And what gives him the right, as he has done in previous surveys, to put Flower Mound, Tex., on the map as one of the most affordable places to live with children? Or Wenatchee, Wash., as one of the greenest cities in America? Or St. George, Utah, as the safest place to live?"

Saturday, May 5, 2007 in The New York Times

Lake Powell with much of the water evaporated.

Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River

Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.

October 30, 2026 - Yale Environment 360

A road in north eastern Nebraska with power lines on either side, and grassy fields.

Eastern Nebraska is running out of electricity

Data centers and electrification are straining eastern Nebraska’s grid, throttling economic development.

November 6, 2026 - Grist

People walking in downtown St. Louis, walking past shops.

Move over, LA: St. Louis gears up for Olympics, invests millions in downtown redevelopment

The Missouri city will host the 2028 Olympic soccer group stage and knockout matches.

November 1, 2026 - Smart Cities Dive

A bridge over the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

Maryland’s $15 billion bridge project gains key approval

The Maryland Transit Authority said the project will create over 60,000 jobs and add $23 billion to the local economy.

15 minutes ago - WTOP News

A crowd of people cheering for an unseen performer.

‘No clear next steps’ for Chicago's permanent festival grounds

Eleventh Ward Ald. Nicole Lee has suggested Soldier Field as a possible location for the permanent event space.

1 hour ago - Chicago Sun Times

Construction in Hawaii, with cranes in front of a lush mountain.

California, Hawaii, Rhode Island approve housing propositions

Hawaii and Rhode Island each approved their sole proposition, while California approved two of its three.

2 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.