The Economist Intelligence Unit Most Liveable cities 2011

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey ranks cities based on 30 factors such as healthcare, culture and environment, and education and personal safety.

Following is a list of the top most liveable cities as ranked by The Economist Intelligence Unit (of 140 world cities):

1. Vancouver, Canada

2. Melbourne, Australia

3. Vienna, Austria

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Calgary, Canada

6. Helsinki, Finland

7. Sydney, Australia

8. (equal) Perth, Australia

8. (equal) Adelaide, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand

12. (equal) Osaka, Japan

12. (equal) Geneva, Switzerland

16. Paris, France

18. Tokyo, Japan

29. Pittsburgh, USA

30. Honolulu, USA

31. Hong Kong, China

44. Los Angeles, USA

53. London, UK

56. New York City, USA

72. Beijing, China

(I couldn't find the ranking for Shanghai)

"Mid-sized cities in developed countries with relatively low population densities tend to score well by having all the cultural and infrastructural benefits on offer with fewer problems related to crime or congestion," said Jon Copestake, editor of the report, in a statement.

Bottom 10:

1. Harare, Zimbabwe

2. Dhaka , Bangladesh

3. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

4. Lagos, Nigeria

5. Algiers , Algeria

6. Karachi, Pakistan

7. Douala, Cameroon

8. Tehran, Iran

9. Dakar, Senegal

10. Colombo, Sri Lanka

Interactive infographic of the world's best countries

Interactive infographic of the world's best countries! Check it out.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/16/best-countries-in-the-world.html

1. Finland
2. Switzerland
3. Sweden
4. Australia
5. Luxembourg
6. Norway
7. Canada
8. Netherlands
9. Japan
10. Denmark
11. United States
12. Germany
13. New Zealand
14. United Kingdom
15. South Korea
16. France
17. Ireland
18. Austria
19. Belgium
20. Singapore
21. Spain
22. Israel
23. Italy
24. Slovenia
25. Czech Republic
...
59. China

Mercer HR 2010 World's most livable cities

I'm back with with another survey list thing. My other posts have been some of my most popular, you can see the previous results here:

2007 results.
2008 results.
2009 results.

Top 50 cities: Quality of living ranking

Base City: New York, US (=100)

Rank 2010	City	Country	Qol index 2010
1	VIENNA	AUSTRIA	108.6
2	ZURICH	SWITZERLAND	108
3	GENEVA	SWITZERLAND	107.9
4	VANCOUVER	CANADA	107.4
4	AUCKLAND	NEW ZEALAND	107.4
6	DUSSELDORF	GERMANY	107.2
7	FRANKFURT	GERMANY	107
7	MUNICH	GERMANY	107
9	BERN	SWITZERLAND	106.5
10	SYDNEY	AUSTRALIA	106.3
11	COPENHAGEN	DENMARK	106.2
12	WELLINGTON	NEW ZEALAND	105.9
13	AMSTERDAM	NETHERLANDS	105.7
14	OTTAWA	CANADA	105.5
15	BRUSSELS	BELGIUM	105.4
16	TORONTO	CANADA	105.3
17	BERLIN	GERMANY	105
18	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA	104.8
19	LUXEMBOURG	LUXEMBOURG	104.6
20	STOCKHOLM	SWEDEN	104.5
21	PERTH	AUSTRALIA	104.2
21	MONTREAL	CANADA	104.2
23	HAMBURG	GERMANY	104.1
24	NURNBURG	GERMANY	103.9
24	OSLO	NORWAY	103.9
26	CANBERRA	AUSTRALIA	103.6
26	DUBLIN	IRELAND	103.6
28	CALGARY	CANADA	103.5
28	SINGAPORE	SINGAPORE	103.5
30	STUTTGART	GERMANY	103.3
31	HONOLULU	UNITED STATES	103.1
32	ADELAIDE	AUSTRALIA	103
32	SAN FRANCISCO	UNITED STATES	103
34	PARIS	FRANCE	102.9
35	HELSINKI	FINLAND	102.6
36	BRISBANE	AUSTRALIA	102.4
37	BOSTON	UNITED STATES	102.2
38	LYON	FRANCE	101.9
39	LONDON	UNITED KINGDOM	101.6
40	TOKYO	JAPAN	101.4
41	MILAN	ITALY	100.8
41	KOBE	JAPAN	100.8
41	YOKOHAMA	JAPAN	100.8
44	BARCELONA	SPAIN	100.6
45	LISBON	PORTUGAL	100.3
45	CHICAGO	UNITED STATES	100.3
45	WASHINGTON	UNITED STATES	100.3
48	MADRID	SPAIN	100.2
49	NEW YORK CITY	UNITED STATES	100
50	SEATTLE	UNITED STATES	99.8

Shanghai - the most beautiful city in the world

I found this really beautiful and moving promotional video about Shanghai (promoting it for the 2010 World Expo)



The cities with the most beautiful skylines in the world rated by National Geographic are as follows:

1. Hong Kong, China
2. Chicago, USA
3. Shanghai, China
4. New York City, USA
5. Tokyo, Japan
6. Singapore
7. Toronto, Canada
8. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9. Shenzhen, China
10. Seoul, South Korea
11. Sao Paolo, Brazil
12. Sydney, Australia
13. Frankfurt, Germany
14. Dubai, United Arab Emirates
15. Seattle, USA
16. Pittsburgh, USA
17. Guangzhou, China
18. Dallas, USA

Economist Intelligent Survey (EIU) World's most liveable cities list

The results of the 'EIU's ten best cities in the world' chart have been released and they go as follows:

Rank City Country
1 Vancouver Canada
2 Vienna Austria
3 Melbourne Australia
4 Toronto Canada
=5 Perth Australia
=5 Calgary Canada
7 Helsinki Finland
8 Geneva Switzerland
=9 Sydney Australia
=9 Zurich Switzerland

Interesting! What do you think of this? Do you agree? Unfortunately I can't find more information about this and where other cities are ranked.

Link 1

Link 2

Mercer 2009 Quality of Living - Best Cities in the world

I'm back with with another survey list thing. My other posts have been some of my most popular, you can see the results here:
2007 results.
2008 results.

and the 2009 full article here


Top 50 cities

Rank 2009	Rank 2008	City	Country	Index 2009	Index 2008
1	2	VIENNA	AUSTRIA	108.6	107.9
2	1	ZURICH	SWITZERLAND	108	108
3	2	GENEVA	SWITZERLAND	107.9	107.9
4	4	VANCOUVER	CANADA	107.4	107.6
4	5	AUCKLAND	NEW ZEALAND	107.4	107.3
6	6	DUSSELDORF	GERMANY	107.2	107.2
7	7	MUNICH	GERMANY	107	107
8	7	FRANKFURT	GERMANY	106.8	107
9	9	BERN	SWITZERLAND	106.5	106.5
10	10	SYDNEY	AUSTRALIA	106.3	106.3
11	11	COPENHAGEN	DENMARK	106.2	106.2
12	12	WELLINGTON	NEW ZEALAND	105.9	105.8
13	13	AMSTERDAM	NETHERLANDS	105.7	105.7
14	14	BRUSSELS	BELGIUM	105.4	105.4
15	15	TORONTO	CANADA	105.3	105.3
16	19	OTTAWA	CANADA	105	104.7
16	16	BERLIN	GERMANY	105	105
18	17	MELBOURNE	AUSTRALIA	104.8	104.8
19	17	LUXEMBOURG	LUXEMBOURG	104.6	104.8
20	20	STOCKHOLM	SWEDEN	104.5	104.5
21	21	PERTH	AUSTRALIA	104.3	104.3
22	22	MONTREAL	CANADA	104.2	104.2
23	23	NURNBERG	GERMANY	104.1	104.1
24	24	OSLO	NORWAY	103.7	103.7
25	25	DUBLIN	IRELAND	103.6	103.5
26	32	SINGAPORE	SINGAPORE	103.5	102.9
26	25	CALGARY	CANADA	103.5	103.5
28	27	HAMBURG	GERMANY	103.4	103.4
29	28	HONOLULU, HI	UNITED STATES	103.1	103.1
30	29	SAN FRANCISCO, CA	UNITED STATES	103	103
30	29	HELSINKI	FINLAND	103	103
30	29	ADELAIDE	AUSTRALIA	103	103
33	32	PARIS	FRANCE	102.9	102.9
34	34	BRISBANE	AUSTRALIA	102.4	102.4
35	35	TOKYO	JAPAN	102.2	102.2
35	37	BOSTON, MA	UNITED STATES	102.2	101.8
37	36	LYON	FRANCE	101.9	101.9
38	38	YOKOHAMA	JAPAN	101.6	101.6
38	38	LONDON	UNITED KINGDOM	101.6	101.6
40	40	KOBE	JAPAN	100.9	100.9
41	41	MILAN	ITALY	100.8	100.8
42	48	PORTLAND, OR	UNITED STATES	100.6	100.2
42	42	BARCELONA	SPAIN	100.6	100.6
44	44	WASHINGTON, DC	UNITED STATES	100.3	100.3
44	44	OSAKA	JAPAN	100.3	100.3
44	44	LISBON	PORTUGAL	100.3	100.3
44	44	CHICAGO, IL	UNITED STATES	100.3	100.3
48	43	MADRID	SPAIN	100.2	100.5
49	49	NEW YORK CITY, NY	UNITED STATES	100	100
50	50	SEATTLE, WA	UNITED STATES	99.8	99.8

The list doesn't seem to change much, does it?

2009 Best 29 best cities to live in

AskMen's 2009 Top 29 best cities to live in list


Check out their article here. Happy reading!

1. Chicago
2. Barcelona
3. San Francisco
4. London
5. Sydney
6. New York
7. Berlin
8. Hong Kong
9. Copenhagen
10. Paris
11. Vancouver
12. Rome
13. Buenos Aires
14. Tokyo
15. Toronto
16. Miami
17. Madrid
18. Vienna
19. Los Angeles
20. Montreal
21. Panama City
22. Portland
23. Lyon
24. Melbourne
25. Tel Aviv
26. Santiago
27. Cape Town
28. Hamburg
29. Edinburgh

Would you agree with this list?

Mercer HR survey 2008 - Quality of living cities

Considering my other post is the most popular on this blog I thought I'd post this up too.

Full article here

Top 10 cities (rest can be found on the site)

Rank 2008	Rank 2007	City	Country	Index 2008	Index 2007
1	1	Zurich	Switzerland	108	108.1
2	3	Vienna	Austria	107.9	107.7
2	2	Geneva	Switzerland	107.9	108.0
4	3	Vancouver	Canada	107.6	107.7
5	5	Auckland	New Zealand	107.3	107.3
6	5	Dusseldorf	Germany	107.2	107.3
7	8	Munich	Germany	107	106.9
7	7	Frankfurt	Germany	107	107.1
9	9	Bern	Switzerland	106.5	106.5
10	9	Sydney	Australia	106.3	106.5

Shanghai: The Endless City

Excerpt from Shanghai Daily

Urban experts' 'endless' approval for Shanghai

By Yao Minji 2008-6-5

MANY expats, upon arrival for the first time in Shanghai, are stunned by this ever-changing metropolis. A common compliment is that "Shanghai looks no different to New York except for the Chinese characters on the skyscrapers."

But does that mean Shanghai is becoming a faceless city like many other big cities? German urban planning expert Wolfgang Nowak gives a definite "no" with the support of a newly released 512-page hard-cover book titled "The Endless City."

"The Endless City" compiles thinking, dialogues and discussions from the project on six major international cities - New York, Shanghai, London, Mexico City, Johannesburg and Berlin. It was edited by London Design Museum curator Deyan Sudjic and LSE urban planning professor Ricky Burdett.

"...the problems illustrated in the book are universal ones that the general public also care about, such as the city's security, the environmental problems, and the future of cities," Nowak tells Shanghai Daily. "So I hope ordinary residents also read the book, think about the problems and become active in their cities."

Nowak is particularly interested in the development of cities because he believes everyone will reside in cities by the end of the century.

The editors picked the six cities mentioned because "they are of particular relevance for a better understanding of urban practice."

In addition, editors Sudjic and Burdett believe Shanghai to be one of the cities that will go through some of the greatest changes in the 21st century. Lagos, Kinshasa, Mumbai, Deli, Dhaka and Jakarta also fall into this category.

"It is projected that by 2030, more than 4 out of every 5 urban dwellers will be in the developing world, so this will have huge implications for the global economy," the editors write.

"At the same time, mature cities such as London, New York, Berlin and Mexico City need to ensure that their future growth reconciles their layered history of planning mistakes and prioritizes sustainable transport and inclusive, contained growth."

Nowak gives examples of Shanghai, a city which "still surprises" him even after four visits.

"When we walk in Shanghai, we see a city of the future, with great public security, large streets, increasing public transportation, people from all over the world and a culture supported by 5,000 years of Chinese history," he says.

Nowak believes other cities could learn from Shanghai's rapid development, public security and planning of the Pudong airport.

On the other hand, he suggests Shanghai could take lessons about the green lifestyle from many older cities such as Berlin, where environmental protection has become part of everyday life.

"Moreover, Shanghai is a city that has still kept its character while developing surprisingly rapidly.Many new cities have become the same under the large trend of globalization. And even some old cities are facing the same problem.

"In Berlin, we are still struggling to reconstruct our history and culture, because lots were destroyed after World War II."

For Nowak, Chinese cities like Shanghai and Beijing have done well in combining modern development with the essence of the city, instead of simply making the old look new.

Not having been to New York City, I have always thought of Shanghai as an Asian NYC. So I may be wrong, but I know that there are many other people out there who think the same thing. There is the buzz, the liveliness, the HUGE population and density, the huge gap between the rich and the poor, the multiculturalism and more. You can't describe it. You just have to LIVE (t)here to EXPERIENCE it.

My sister lived in Shanghai only 3 years ago and I can already see so many changes since I visited her then. Even in the one year that I've been here there have been huge changes - notably the completion of THREE new subway lines, and the new terminal at Pudong airport. I do wonder though, with so many rapid changes going on... if I ever come back to Shanghai in the future will it be unrecognizable? Will all the little things that make it 'cool' be obliterated in the strive to become more futuristic, more Western, more affluent? I guess only time will tell (although I guess I already answered my own question).

Part of why I love living in Shanghai is the crazy feeling that somehow you're in a time warp. You're kind of living in the past and in the future at the same time. I'm sure there will be a time when those old men pulling the tricycles loaded up with 50 billion kilograms of styrofoam boxes, cane chairs, recyclable cardboard packaging, plastic water bottles or whatnot will be gone and then I can reminisce to my kids, "When I was your age and living in Shanghai..."

If anyone is interested in skyscraper cities there is a great forum here.



And you can buy "The Endless City" book here

Richest cities in 2020

More stats from the stats-lover ;) Link

If you look carefully you'll see that Shanghai (16th) and Beijing (29th) have the highest percentage of growth(6.5/6.6%) which isn't surprising to anyone who knows anything about China! Mexico City being 7th though? Wow, that's quite a shocker to me.

Rank	City/Urban area	Country	Est GDP in 2020 in US$bn	Est annual growth 2005-2020
1	Tokyo	Japan	1602	2.0%
2	New York	USA	1561	2.2%
3	Los Angeles	USA	886	2.2%
4	London	UK	708	3.0%
5	Chicago	USA	645	2.3%
6	Paris	France	611	1.9%
7	Mexico City	Mexico	608	4.5%
8	Philadelphia	USA	440	2.3%
9	Osaka/Kobe	Japan	430	1.6%
10	Washington DC	USA	426	2.4%
11	Buenos Aires	Argentina	416	3.6%
12	Boston	USA	413	2.4%
13	Sao Paulo	Brazil	411	4.1%
14	Hong Kong	China	407	3.5%
15	Dallas/Fort Worth	USA	384	2.4%
16	Shanghai	China	360	6.5%
17	Seoul	South Korea	349	3.2%
18	Atlanta	USA	347	2.6%
19	San Francisco/Oakland	USA	346	2.4%
20	Houston	USA	339	2.5%
21	Miami	USA	331	2.4%
22	Toronto	Canada	327	3.0%
23	Moscow	Russia	325	4.0%
24	Mumbai	India	300	6.0%
25	Madrid	Spain	299	3.2%
26	Detroit	USA	287	2.3%
27	Istanbul	Turkey	287	5.2%
28	Seattle	USA	269	2.5%
29	Beijing	China	259	6.6%
30	Metro Manila	Philippines	257	5.9%
31	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	256	4.1%
32	Sydney	Australia	256	2.7%
33	Jakarta	Indonesia	253	6.5%
34	Delhi	India	229	6.2%
35	Phoenix	USA	228	2.5%
36	Guangzhou	China	227	6.9%
37	Minneapolis	USA	224	2.5%
38	Kolkata	India	224	5.9%
39	San Diego	USA	220	2.4%
40	Singapore	Singapore	218	3.6%
41	Cairo	Egypt	212	5.3%
42	Barcelona	Spain	201	2.4%
43	Melbourne	Australia	200	2.6%
44	Denver	USA	190	2.6%
45	Rome	Italy	187	2.9%
46	Bangkok	Thailand	180	4.8%
47	Montreal	Canada180	180	2.8%
48	Milan	Italy	174	2.8%
49	Tehran	Iran	172	4.5%
50	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	167	5.0%
51	Pusan	South Korea	165	3.8%
52	Bogotá	Colombia	163	4.3%
53	Santiago	Chile	160	3.8%
54	Monterrey	Mexico	157	4.8%
55	Baltimore	USA	157	2.4%
56	Tel Aviv-Jaffa	Israel	153	3.5%
57	St Petersburg	Russia	151	3.9%
58	St Louis	USA	146	2.5%
59	Tampa/St Petersburg	USA	142	2.5%
60	Johannesburg	South Africa	131	3.4%
61	Lisbon	Portugal	130	3.3%
62	Cleveland	USA	129	2.4%
63	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	129	4.6%
64	Portland	USA	128	2.6%
65	Vienna	Austria	127	2.1%
66	Karachi	Pakistan	127	5.8%
67	Dhaka	Bangladesh	126	6.1%
68	Lima	Peru	123	4.2%
69	Vancouver	Canada	121	2.9%
70	Cape Town	South Africa	121	3.3%
71	Stockholm	Sweden	121	3.2%
72	Guadalajara	Mexico	119	4.6%
73	Pittsburgh	USA	115	2.4%
74	Tianjin	China	112	6.3%
75	Jiddah	Saudi Arabia	111	4.8%
76	Bangalore	India	110	6.2%
77	Dublin	Ireland	99	4.8%
78	Ho Chi Min City	Vietnam	98	6.5%
79	Birmingham	UK	96	2.0%
80	Wuhan	China	96	6.4%
81	Fukuoka	Japan	96	2.0%
82	Manchester	UK	96	2.2%
83	Hyderabad	India	92	6.1%
84	Chennai	India	91	6.0%
85	Athens	Greece	91	1.5%
86	Berlin	Germany	88	1.1%
87	Ankara	Turkey	87	5.0%
88	Chongqing	China	87	6.3%
89	Lyon	France	85	2.8%
90	Turin	Italy	84	2.5%
91	Porto Alegre	Brazil	82	4.3%
92	Brasilia	Brazil	82	5.1%
93	Warsaw	Poland	80	3.5%
94	Ahmadabad	India	78	6.2%
95	Hamburg	Germany	78	2.0%
96	Recife	Brazil	77	4.4%
97	Pune	India	76	6.3%
98	Lagos	Nigeria	76	6.2%
99	Salvador	Salvador	75	4.6%
100	Munich	Germany	73	2.6%