Mayoral spokesperson Tony Winnicker sent us this hot tip: Real Simple Magazine (which, apparently, still exists though my beloved Domino remains dead, unfair unfair unfair) has put together a list of the “21 Top Time-Saving Cities in America” and San Francisco’s #3.
In the press release they put together to announce this (sadly, it does not appear to be online), their methodology is explained — apparently, they “ranked each city from 1-5 on a scale based on various criteria” including:
Getting Around – Average length of commute, walkability, amount of traffic congestion, and airport punctuality rate.
Health and Safety – Average time spent waiting to see a doctor, number of doctors per capita, and emergency medical service response time.
Information and Technology – Access to broadband and wireless services, number of bookstores and libraries per capita, and 311 information services (i.e.: non-emergency hotlines that provide government information).
Green Time-Savers – Access to recycling programs, number of farmers’ markets and community gardens per capita, and amount of bicycle-friendly areas.
Lifestyle – Number of personal trainers and organizers per capita and takeout restaurants per capita.
Well! That explains it. CLEARLY whatever score we got given our glut of personal trainers (seriously, I could throw a rock and hit one RIGHT NOW) completely canceled out the surely abysmal “Getting Around” score we much have gotten.
Here’s the whole list, what do you think, agree, disagree?
1. Seattle, WA
2. Portland, OR
3. San Francisco, CA
4. Boston, MA
5. Minneapolis, MN
6. Denver, CO
7. Washington, D.C.
8. Pittsburgh, PA
9. Miami, FL
10. Atlanta, GA
11. Baltimore, MD
12. Philadelphia, PA
13. New York, NY
14. Chicago, IL
15. Austin, TX
16. Cleveland, OH
17. Dallas, TX
18. Los Angeles, CA
19. San Diego, CA
20. Houston, TX
21. Phoenix, AZ