How nice it is to have some outside affirmation of our fair city's intelligence.

While it’s much easier for me and others to criticize the City of Columbus for Real Estate related dos and dont’s, I also enjoy giving Columbus props when we make the National spotlight in same way. My hope is that anyone considering Moving to Columbus, Ohio will find that it’s a rich, vibrant city. Usually, it’s some inane list of Best Cities to …. but today, thanks to Andrew Miller, I see that Columbus is in the top 15 smartest cities as ranked by Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Their self-description…Smarter Cities, a project of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit 501(c)(3), is a multimedia web initiative whose mission is to foster a little friendly competition (see Annual Cities Research and Rankings below) as well as provide a forum for exploring the progress American cities are making in environmental stewardship and sustainable growth.

Mostly, they talk about Mayor Coleman’s downtown housing initiative and Columbus’ plan, “to be the bicycling capital of the country. The Bicentennial Bikeways Plan, finalized in May 2008, calls to double the city’s 50 miles of biking lanes and trails by 2012, when the city celebrates its bicentennial. By 2018, the city plans to add another 200 miles for biking by connecting greenways and activity centers…”