Baltimore, Maryland, just recently earned the dubious distinction as the filthiest municipality in the nation. This designation stems from an Urban Institute report that examined complaints related to sanitation. The numbers are staggering as Baltimore shouldering an incredible 47,295 sanitation complaints per 100,000 people. This amazing figure puts the city as the most dangerous in America. These findings paint an alarming picture of the mismatch between what the community desires and deserves for a cleaner city.
The 12.3 million sanitation-related 311 complaints from dozens of U.S. cities included in the report — released by HouseFresh — paint a much different, rotier picture. Baltimore has a powerful narrative around chronic filth. Six of those dirtiest ZIP codes within the region are clustered in or next to the city’s core.
In Sacramento, California, the second highest city in the report, the number of sanitation-related complaints was 34,186 complaints per 100,000 population. The city’s polluted river is thought to play a role in the city’s high complaint rate. The widespread litter and lack of any waste management in many communities has alarmed residents, with the unsightly littering hampering potential development.
New York City is usually considered a loud, active, fast-paced metropolis. To our surprise, it scored the lowest—17th place overall of the 23 dirtiest cities. The city’s report of 3,728 sanitation complaints per 100,000 population. As expected, Brooklyn was the borough with the most complaints by a long shot, totaling a whopping 7,664 reports.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the cleanest city on the list with just 309 sanitation-related complaints per 100,000 city population. The department’s data speaks to the notion that Milwaukee’s majority Black residents go through far fewer sanitation complaints than more populous municipalities such as Baltimore and Sacramento.
The ranking features 59 large cities. Charlotte, North Carolina tops the list with 31,112 complaints per 100,000 residents, followed by Los Angeles, California at 21,616 complaints and Memphis, Tennessee at 17,408 complaints. For example, Boston, Massachusetts, had an average of 10,252 complaints per 100,000 DOI population.
As the affected organization explained, Baltimore’s shockingly high complaint rate shows why East Baltimorean sanitation workers need immediate investments in sanitation infrastructure.
“We ranked locations based on the number of sanitation-related reports per 100,000 population.” – HouseFresh
As Jessica Tisch, New York City’s Commissioner of Sanitation, said during a recent Governing Summit on the challenges cities are encountering to stay clean.
“With a staggeringly high complaint rate of 47,295 per 100,000 population, there seems to be a disconnect between the needs of the community and the cleanliness of the city,” – HouseFresh
The city of Sacramento took a cue from its residents, appreciating the concerns around sanitation services.
“[It’s] where we’ll be calling out those worst of the worst — property owners who put the businesses and residences around them at risk by allowing filthy conditions to fester,” – Jessica Tisch
Tisch further highlighted the societal implications of littering.
“Some sidewalk slobs have had it too good for too long,” – Jessica Tisch
The city of Sacramento also acknowledged residents’ concerns about sanitation services.
“any Customer Service request they have, including routine collection services such as starting a new service or reporting a broken container lid.” – City of Sacramento
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