Burlington

Burlington is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Champlain in Vermont and serves as the administrative seat of Chittenden County. Streets run uphill from the waterfront district through several residential areas, with Church Street forming a pedestrian zone at the commercial center.

The settlement began in 1783 as a trading post and grew during the 19th century through shipping traffic on Lake Champlain into a center of regional commerce. Railway connections from the mid-century onward reinforced its economic importance for Vermont and surrounding areas.

On the Church Street Marketplace, locals gather to shop and eat while street musicians perform on the pedestrian mall. Along the waterfront, families congregate for walks and joggers use the paths beside the lake for their daily runs.

An airport outside the city offers connections to larger metropolitan areas on the East Coast, while public buses run through residential neighborhoods and into the downtown area. Visitors walking around should be aware of the slopes between the waterfront and upper town.

All municipal electricity comes from renewable energy sources through the local power utility, making this the first American city with complete green electricity supply. This transition occurred through hydropower from the lake and supplementary biomass facilities in the surrounding area.