Superfun!

Introduction to the How-Fun Ranking System

The How-Fun Ranking System (HFRS) is the principal mechanism that the EPA uses to properly measure and assess the fun that Superfun! sites generate. It is a numerically based screening system.

The HFRS uses a structured analysis approach to scoring sites. This approach assigns numerical values to fun-related factors at the site. Fun Factors are ranked on a 1-100 scale, and are grouped into 5 general categories:

  • Use Fun (HFRS_01U)
    • The fun you can have by using the toxic products a SF! site produces [learn more]
  • Capital Fun (HFRS_02C)
    • The fun you can have by enjoying the wealth a SF! site generates—as people make, transport, market, sell, use, and dispose of the toxic industrial products as well as clean up the inevitable on-site and off-site WTF messes [learn more]
      Scale

      NOTE: while relatively few people enjoy the lion’s share of the Capital Fun, the sheer quantity tends to compensate for the often shockingly uneven distribution.

  • Nearby Fun (HFRS_03N)
    • The fun you can enjoy within a half-mile of a SF! site (includes a walkability-to-fun subscore) [learn more]
      Scale

      NOTE: those who enjoy the most Nearby Fun often enjoy the least Capital Fun.

  • Remedial Fun (HFRS_04R)
    • The good cleanish on-site fun you can have on a cleaned-up SF! site [learn more]
      Scale

      NOTE: a warehouse center or other low-HFRS_04R facility will nevertheless encourage scads of ultra-toxic industrial production, and thereby will boost the Use, Heritage, and especially Capital Fun Factors at a wide range of other SF! sites near and far.

      SEE ALSO: Remedial Fun Options Guide

  • Heritage Fun (HFRS_05H)
    • The fun that a SF! site facilitates through the associations of the ultra-toxic products with the American Dream [learn more]
      USA! USA! USA!

      NOTE: most Superfun! sites have high HFRS_05H scores.

The overall Superfun! HFRS site score is derived using the industry standard for modeling as first initiated in the Practices Guidebook for Superfun! Modeling ver. 3.5 (1990). In addition, the HFRS assigns sub-scores to 5 common fun pathways—active, passive, healthy, unhealthy, and mega-unhealthy—for each of the 5 Fun Factors. The resulting scores are adjusted for inflation, rounded down, and standardized.

If all Fun Factor (FF) scores are low, the site score is low. However, the site score can be relatively high even if only one FF score is high. This is an important feature of HFRS scoring, as some extremely fun sites generate fun through only one or two FFs.

The QuickFunScore! is an electronic scoring tool you can use to calculate your own Superfun! site score. Find it here.

Also see: the How-Fucd Rating System