Philadelphia lands No. 2 spot on dirty-city list

Whenever Philadelphia winds up on a best or worst list, it's like catnip for the local media.

Travel + Leisure magazine is a year-round treasure trove for these lists, and this month a Web-only article reports that Philadelphia ranked No. 2 on its list of "America's Dirtiest Cities."

Number one? New Orleans. Remember how Ray Nagin, who was then New Orleans' mayor, declared in 2007 that Philadelphia was dirtier than his hurricane-ravaged city?

Well, New Orleans is dirtier. We have proof, based on a poll of visitors to Travel + Leisure's website. A poll taken last year.

Take that, Ray Nagin.

The magazine's website said voters in the 2010 "America's Favorites Cities" poll identified themselves as either residents or visitors. In each category, voters can rate a city on a scale from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.

So Philadelphia ranked 34th out of 35 in "cleanliness." New Orleans ranked 35th. That's according to visitors, whose rankings make up the magazine's featured lists. The magazine also shows how residents voted.

Philadelphians ranked Philadelphia No. 35.

Well, yeah. The SEPTA concourse under City Hall doesn't exactly smell like lavender and lilacs.

Voting is now open for the 2011 poll: www.travelandleisure.com/americas-favorite-cities/2011/survey