How does Toronto stack up in the sustainability department relative to other cities?

With the mayor currently visiting (and Tweeting from!) Switzerland this week, as chairman of the C40 cities fighting climate change, it feels like a good time to review a few things closer to home.

Right before the new year, "Toronto's green report card" was published, providing a solid review of the good and the bad from last year. It's a quick read of the good and the bad for city residents. But that just looks at our city..

To look around the rest of Canada there is the 2009 version of the Sustainable Cities in Canada ranking report put out by Corporate Knights. The report places Toronto a close second to Edmonton in the large cities category, with its highest score in "governance and empowerment" and lowest in "economic security". The set of indicators they are using aren't perfect, but they're at least objective and quantifiable, as explained in their methodology.

Along similar lines, there's a documentary airing tonight at 8pm on CBC TV that takes a look at the livability of Canada's cities: Christopher Hume's The Nature of Things documentary, Living Cities: A Critical Guide. The urban columnist for the Toronto Star should shine some light on current city issues and complement the two above reports (if the film is any good).

Photo: "chimney stacks" by Reza Vaziri, member of the blogTO flickr pool.