A new Smarter Cities Web site has ranked Redmond the No. 10 “smaller-sized city” (population 50,000-99,999) in America.

The Web site exposes the diverse and proactive work being done across the country to make cities “smarter” — in other words, more efficient, livable and cleaner.

“From healthier air and cleaner water to better transportation and greener buildings, cities are once again becoming the most desirable places to live … and helping to reshape the environment responsibly,” according to a press release from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

The cornerstone of Smarter City is City Rankings, highlighting the top 15 “smart cities” in the nation, broken down by population size (small, medium or large) and ranking a total of 660 cities in all.

To offer more perspective, the No. 10 Smarter Cities in the medium (population 100,000-249,999) and large (population 250,000-plus) categories are Laredo, Tex. and Chicago, respectively.

Not too shabby.

The top 15 cities in each category are profiled, along with photo galleries at http://smartercities.nrdc.org/ to give readers a clearer understanding of why these cities are admired. Additionally, top cities are ranked by individual features such as air quality, water, recycling practices and so forth.

Redmond placed No. 6 among small cities for green building and No. 10 among small cities for transportation.

There’s also a “Cities to Watch” section to highlight up-and-coming communities.

The site grew out of the Smarter Cities Project, formerly part of National Geographic’s Green Guide and now affiliated with the Natural Resources Defense Council. The data for ranking, however, is independent of the NRDC and was collected and crunched with the help of a researcher from the Yale School of Foresty and Environmental Studies.

“The intention of the rankings is to foster a little friendly competition, as well as provide a forum for exploring the progress American cities are making in environmental stewardship and sustainable growth,” the NRDC announcement said.

And how did Redmond’s neighbors fare in comparison?

Bellevue was ranked No. 2 for standard of living and No. 8 for air quality among medium-sized cities. Kirkland, Sammamish and Woodinville, which have populations of less than 50,000, were not ranked.