El Paso is No. 1 among 200 of the nation’s largest cities for making the most progress in recent years in improving the quality of life, according to a new ranking done by Newsweek/Daily Beast.
It calls the top cities “America’s Can-Do Capitals,” and said these are cities that “still have it going on” even as economists fear a “double dip” recession.
El Paso scored 71.43 points out of a possible 100 in the ranking, which allotted 25 points in each of its four categories: sustainability, livability, transportation and infrastructure, and business development.
The ranking was published in the latest issue of Newsweek magazine as part of a story about ways to fix America, and is posted on the Daily Beast, an online compilation of news and commentary.
“By several significant data points, it (El Paso) has become a city that offers more opportunity to residents than it did a half-decade ago,” said Lauren Streib, an assistant editor for Newsweek/Daily Beast. She and reporter Clark Merrefield compiled the rankings using a variety of data from government agencies and Moody’s, an economic research company.
The data show that in the past several years, El Paso has become more environmentally friendly, “and its business climate and the quality of life of its residents has improved,” Streib said.
Richard Dayoub, president of the Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, said El Paso’s ranking comes at good time. He noted that the No. 1 ranking was released as a city task force and city leaders work to improve El Paso’s image, which has been tarnished by its nearness to the drug-cartel violence in Juárez.
“We really need to hold something like this up and say, ‘See, it’s not just us saying what a wonderful place we are,’ “ Dayoub said. “Newsweek and the Daily Beast are highly regarded. It means a lot for our community.”
Some of the cities ranked behind El Paso were San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.
Bob Cook, president of the El Paso Regional Economic Development Corp., said the ranking carries weight not only because it is put out by Newsweek/Daily Beast but also because it used a wide array of data to reach its conclusions.
“I think this is one of those reports that gives us a platform to share (things) about El Paso that the rest of the world does not believe,” Cook said.
Newsweek/Daily Beast’s Streib said the idea was to compile data that would show how large cities have changed within the past five years. The study was designed to come up with surprises, she said — “cities that we don’t know about and that are improving in subtle and obvious ways.”
Bill Blaziek, general manager of the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau, said El Paso’s No. 1 ranking “has people raising their eyebrows” because El Paso outdistanced other cities often ranked in other polls as the most livable, such as Omaha (ranked No. 6) and Portland (No. 15).
“This resonates only good will and positive impressions for El Paso. I certainly will use it in my presentations” for conventions and other recruiting efforts, he said.
El Paso’s highest score (21.46) came in sustainability, which included air pollution data, increase in park acreage, and percent positive change in green buildings.