Looking for the most eco-friendly city in the world?

Hint #1: It’s in Canada.

Hint #2: It’s not where you might expect.

According to Mercer’s 2010 Quality of Living survey, which ranked cities worldwide on their environmental friendliness, the world’s top ranking “eco-city” is Calgary, Alberta.

Several Canadian metropolitan areas scored highly in this eco ranking, including Ottawa, which tied for #3 with Helsinki, and Montreal and Vancouver (both tied for #13).

Among the factors that the Mercer team considered in the eco-city survey were water availability, water potability, waste removal, sewage, air pollution, and traffic congestion.

And in the broader Quality of Living survey, ranking urban areas on a variety of factors that contribute to their overall liveability, Vancouver was the top-scoring Canadian city, tying for #4 with Auckland, New Zealand.

In fact, the survey found that the most liveable cities in the Americas are all in Canada. Following Vancouver (#4) were Ottawa (#14), Toronto (#16), Montreal (#21), and Calgary (#28).

Here are links to the Top 50 cities: Quality of living ranking and the Top 50 cities: Eco-City ranking.

Calgary photo ©Carolyn B. Heller