Archinect - News

Vienna is back on top of the EIU list of the world’s most livable cities

2022-06-28T17:32:00-04:00

After two years, Vienna has overtaken Auckland as the world’s most livable city, according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The EIU said that Auckland’s position on the index dipped to the 34th spot this year because of higher Covid-19 infection rates and strict border controls in 2021. Although lockdowns ended in New Zealand in December, well-vaccinated cities in Europe and Canada had begun easing restrictions earlier.

The Austrian capital was joined by Copenhagen, Zurich, Geneva, Frankfurt, and Amsterdam as the other European cities on the list. Calgary, Vancouver, Toronto, Osaka, and Melbourne rounded out the Top 10 of the 172-city sampling.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine also impacted the makeup of the list, as did the Chinese government’s political crackdowns on Hong Kong, causing a loss of connectivity and cultural freedoms which dropped the city to 62nd overall.

Jan Gehl has his doubts about 'Smart Cities'

2018-05-07T14:52:00-04:00

I think we haven’t thought through the challenge of technology for city mobility. We are stuck with some 120-year-old ideas that the industry is desperately holding on to. I tell students: Whenever you hear the word “smart,” beware, because that is somebody who wants to sell as many millions as possible of some new gimmick. And he is not necessarily giving you a better quality of life.

Annette Becker and Lessano Negussie, curators of the new exhibition RIDE A BIKE! Reclaim the City at the Deutsches Architekturmuseum (DAM) in Frankfurt, Germany, interviewed the 81-year-old 'people-friendly city' evangelist for the show's accompanying book.

Melbourne named world’s most liveable city for seventh consecutive year

2017-08-18T18:38:00-04:00

Melbourne, Australia has been ranked as the most “liveable” city in the world for the seventh consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit. The EIU’s benchmark annual report titled “The Global Liveability Report 2017,” ranks 140 cities in order of best living conditions. Melbourne’s 97.5 score is down to perfect assessments in health care, education, and infrastructure, as well as hitting over 95 in stability, and culture and environment.

As in previous years, the top 10 list is mostly comprised of major cities in Australia and Canada, while Vienna — once again — barely misses the first spot by 0.1 percentage points overall. Auckland, Helsinki, and Hamburg manage to claim some coveted spots at the top for their respective countries.

The world's top cities for liveability in 2017 are:

Melbourne, Australia
Vienna, Austria
Vancouver, Canada
Toronto, Canada
Calgary, Canada
Adelaide, Australia
Perth, Australia
Auckland, New Zealand
Helsinki, Finland
Hamburg, Germany

Melbourne is world’s most liveable city for fifth consecutive year

2015-08-20T15:24:00-04:00

In any event, it's as you were for the "haves" at the top of list, with Melbourne taking the top spot for a fifth year running, with Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Adelaide/Calgary (tied at 5) completing the top five most livable cities in 2015. [...] these cities have "relatively few challenges to living standards," and enjoy a good infrastructure, healthcare system and a low murder rate. Unsurprisingly, Damascus remains the least livable city, with Syria embroiled in a bloody civil war.

Other articles related to liveability on Archinect:

Think you live in a nice county? Find out where it stands on the nationwide Natural Amenities Index.

2015-08-20T12:01:00-04:00

Ventura County, Calif., is the absolute most desirable place to live in America. I know this because in the late 1990s the federal government devised a measure of the best and worst places to live in America, from the standpoint of scenery and climate. The "natural amenities index" is intended as "a measure of the physical characteristics of a county area that enhance the location as a place to live."

Wanna find out how well or how poorly your home county scored? Head over to the Washington Post article and hover your mouse over the interactive map. (Residents of the Great Lakes Region - prepare yourselves for disappointment.)

The Calvert Journal asks experts: How to fix Moscow?

2015-01-22T14:42:00-05:00

Big, brash, and full of energy, Moscow is a city that knows how to make an impression. But for all its attractions — world-class museums, clubs and rapidly transforming food scene, to name a few — its downsides are impossible to ignore. [...] This week, The Calvert Journal considers Moscow’s prospects, consulting experts at the Moscow Urban Forum, looking in detail at two projects in the pipeline — VDNKh and Zaryadye Park — and checking out some neighbourhoods that are already going places.

50 years of gentrification: will all our cities turn into 'deathly' Canberra?

2014-12-12T13:22:00-05:00

The Economist Intelligence Unit puts Melbourne in first place, followed by Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto, Adelaide and Calgary. There is never any mention, on any list, of London or New York, Paris or Hong Kong. There are no liveable cities where you might actually want to live. [...] Liveability, it seems, is defined by a total absence of risk or chance, pleasure or surprise. It is an index of comfort, a guide to places where you can go safe in the knowledge you’ll never be far from a Starbucks.

Is Jan Gehl winning his battle to make our cities liveable?

2014-12-09T15:24:00-05:00

Ahead of a special Guardian Cities event, the renowned urban ‘rethinker’ says cities should be six or seven storeys high, Helsinki is on the verge of revolution, and that he’s sceptical of London’s cycle superhighway plans [...] Practice partner Søholt puts forward one way of improving a city’s liveability: “Mix the city and assemble the people rather than dispersing them.”

Planning for Local and Liveable Neighbourhoods in Melbourne

2014-09-03T15:24:00-04:00

Melbourne is now a more expensive place to live than New York. The increasing cost of living, and in particular, the cost of housing risks seriously undermining the city’s liveability. Plan Melbourne, the new metropolitan strategy for the city, recognises that housing affordability is one of the pressing issues facing Melburnians. The strategy offers a set of concepts aimed at shaping the city’s future and – the government hopes – addressing housing affordability and choice.

Pittsburgh’s Place in the Placemaking Movement

2014-08-28T14:09:00-04:00

Pittsburgh has done it again! After being named “America’s Most Livable City” by Forbes in 2010 and one of the “Best All-American Vacations” earlier this year by The Travel Channel, it was recently named as the second “most livable city” in the United States by the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2014 livability survey [...]. Pittsburgh is ripe for Placemaking [...], making it the perfect host city for this seminal gathering of Placemaking leaders and walking and bicycling professionals.

Melbourne named world’s most liveable city for fourth consecutive year

2014-08-19T19:10:00-04:00

The Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) claims its annual Liveability Survey could be used to "assign a hardship allowance as part of expatriate relocation packages," among other things. But that needn't apply to those in Melbourne, which for the fourth year running has been declared the best city in the world to live. The Australian culture hub was buoyed by superlative healthcare, infrastructure and education as well as a murder rate of 3.1 per 100,000 people, half the global average of 6.2.

While three Canadian cities made the ranking's top 10 (again), U.S. cities keep failing to score high.

The world's top cities for liveability are:

1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, Canada

4. Toronto, Canada

=5. Adelaide, Australia

=5. Calgary, Canada

7. Sydney, Australia

8. Helsinki, Finland

9. Perth, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand