The February issue of Men’s Journal magazine names Charlottesville as one of the top five healthiest cities in the country.
The magazine used information by Sperling’s Ranked and Rated and looked at quality of life as one of criteria for a healthy lifestyle.
According to a press release from the city, Charlottesville was listed because of its availability of local produce and farms – see the Buy Fresh and Buy Local movement, countless CSAs, an extremely successful Farmers Market, which just last year reported record-breaking revenues, and the local nonprofit Food Hub.
short commute times – unless you live in Earlysville and are forced to travel north on Rte. 29 every evening, which county officials are desperately trying to change via the Places29 Master Plan. We’ll see.
low pollution levels – as with short commute times, just the sheer number of cars traveling in and out of our city makes the air you breathe somewhat unpolluted, no?
expanding and available green spaces – see Biscuit Run, the 1,300-acre land sold to the state as parkland. Yet—and there is a big yet—what about McIntire Park and the Meadowcreek Parkway? With the road planned to cut through the park, some would argue about expansive green spaces.
mild climate – sure, if you don’t count last week’s arctic temperatures.
sidewalk access and pedestrian friendly community – up for debate considering the number of pedestrians run over or killed by automobiles in the past couple of years.
Other cities that made the list are Iowa City, Iowa; Boulder, Colorado; Logan, Utah and Northampton, Massachusetts.