Behind the methodology

Key themes

• Vehicle miles traveled — the largest contributor to a city’s emission levels — bounced back since taking a dip in 2020.
• Biking sustained popularity, but pedestrian activity “dropped significantly.”
• The number of electric vehicles per 100 people is still relatively low. Read: We’re still not seeing a large saturation of EVs; most cities saw fewer than one EV per 100 people.

• The Company Lab’s Sustainable Mobility Accelerator cohort is focusing on the future-forward movement of people, goods, energy, and data.
• The city recently received $4 million to study and work on solutions to improve pedestrian safety and connectivity.
• EV charging stations are continuing to be installed — there are 308 in the Greater Chattanooga area.

How we ranked

• VMT: No. 73
• Fuel economy: No. 93
• Transit ridership: No. 78
• EV penetration: No. 84
• Biking activity: No. 76
• Pedestrian activity: No. 95
• Truck miles traveled: No. 99
• VMT change: No. 96
• EV penetration: No. 82
• Biking activity: No. 75
• Pedestrian activity: No. 92
• Truck miles traveled: No. 86
• VMT change: No. 34

• Fit & Fuel: Exercise and Education | Wednesday, April 10 | 6-7:30 p.m. | The Chattery, 1800 Rossville Ave., Chattanooga | $33.85 | Learn how metabolism works while going through a guided workout and yoga session.

• Create & Sip | Thursday, April 11 | 6-7:30 p.m. | Hunter Museum of American Art, 10 Bluff View Ave., Chattanooga | $20-$25 | Enjoy a glass of wine while making your own creation inspired by the museum’s current exhibit.

• Wild Wander: Plant Natives Weekend | Friday, April 12-Sunday, April 14 | Times vary | Locations vary, Chattanooga | $15-$55 | Experience a full weekend of learning about and growing your native plant collection with workshops, guided field trips, and a market.
• Spring Concert | Friday, April 12 | 7 p.m. | North River Civic Center, 1009 Executive Dr., Hixson | Free | Enjoy free live music brought to you by the Chattanooga Community Spring Orchestra.
• Lenox Hills | Friday, April 12 | 9-11:55 p.m. | Barrelhouse Ballroom, 1501 Long St., Chattanooga | $12-$15 | This Tennessee-based rock quartet with a “raucous yet dynamic sound” will hit the stage with Massey Lane.

• Spring Plant Festival | Saturday, April 13-Sunday, April 14 | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Creekside Flower Farm, 5549 N. Marble Top Rd., Chickamauga | $0-$5 | Stop by this local flower farm to shop from 50+ plant varieties and vendors while enjoying live music.
• Chattanooga Taco & Tequila Bar Crawl | Saturday, April 13 | 12-5 p.m. | Locations vary, Chattanooga | $29-$48 | Stroll through Chattanooga while eating tacos and enjoying exclusive margarita, tequila, and beer specials.

• Happy Eid. It’s Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan. Also called the Sweet Eid or Sugar Feast, those fasting during this past month will enjoy a meal + plenty of sweets. Grab your baklava from University Pizza Deli and Mediterranean Cuisine.

• A four-story residential and commercial development project recently gained rezoning approval for the Southside area. The 32-residential unit will sit at the corner of Central Avenue and Rossville Boulevard + feature commercial space on the ground floor. Construction is set to begin later this year. (Chattanooga Times Free Press)

• The finalists for TVFCU’s Idea Leap Grant competition are in. Representing the Chattanooga region, Creekside Flower Farm was the People’s Choice Winner. The 15 finalists across the Chattanooga, Ocoee, and Northwest Georgia regions will move on to the Pitch Competition throughout the last week of April.

• The South Chattanooga Council will host its April Luncheon tomorrow, April 11 at the Black Creek Club. From 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., attendees will hear from speakers discuss eating from “land-to-table” and sourcing food from local farms. RSVP online.

• The community is invited to the seventh annual UTC Technology Symposium, featuring competition research projects conducted by local students on Monday, April 15. Think: Identifying aging-related genes from muscle gene expression data, the performance of congressional stock portfolios, and more. (University of Tennessee Chattanooga)

• Nominations are now open for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Chattanooga’s City of Potential Awards. Three categories will recognize “individuals and organizations who are creating opportunities and impacting lives through mentoring engagement.” Know someone who has impacted the community? Nominate them by Monday, May 27.

• Did you know that it’s National Poetry Month? If you’re a poet and totally know it, try your hand at our NOOGAtoday Poetry Contest. The catch? You can only use words found in our Wednesday, April 3 newsletter. Learn more + submit your poem by Sunday, April 14.

• Ready, set, grow. We’ve partnered with ServeScape to help one lucky winner get their dream garden with a $1,000 gift card for local plants + landscape design. Enter to win now through Wednesday, April 17.*

• Grab your boots, NOOGA — we’re heading out for a hike. We’ve rounded up three trails for all levels to check out this spring, plus the benefits of getting direct sunlight. And in case you missed it, this was part of our monthly NOOGA wellness newsletter.*

• Yesterday’s Chattanooga Lookouts game ran into a rain check, but the team is back in business tonight, April 10 at 7:15 p.m. for Opening Day, take two. Pro tip: Snag a Pooch Pass at checkout and bring your dogs for the pregame dog parade.*

• Cue drum roll. 2024 is here, and the personal finance experts at The Ascent have sorted through hundreds of credit cards to do the work for you. Presenting: These four credit cards, among the best bonus cards the experts have ever seen.*