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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.

Vienna defends top spot in Global Liveability Index with 'near-perfect' score in infrastructure, education, health care, culture

2019-09-05T14:43:00-04:00

On the EIU’s index, which ranks 140 cities on 30 factors bunched into five categories—stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure—Vienna scores a near-perfect 99.1 out of 100, putting it just ahead of Melbourne. [...] Higher crime rates and ropey infrastructure pull some bigger cities like London, New York and Paris down the league table, despite their cultural and culinary attractions.

Having seemingly cracked the 'perfect-city' formula, Vienna, once again, has topped a major global livability ranking. As The Economist reports, the Austrian capital scored a "near-perfect 99.1 out of 100," followed immediately by its perennial quality-of-life rival, Melbourne.

Unsurprisingly, the list of top-ranking locations contains familiar livability heavy hitters from Australia and Canada with a couple of Japanese cities entering the mix:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Melbourne, Australia
3. Sydney, Australia
4. Osaka, Japan
5. Calgary, Canada
6. Vancouver, Canada
7. Toronto, Canada
7. Tokyo, Japan
9. Copenhagen, Denmark
10. Adelaide, Australia

The highest-ranking U.S. city was Honolulu at 22nd. Atlanta came in at 33rd, closely followed by Pittsburgh at 34th, Seattle at 36th, and Washington, D.C. at 40th.

The Global Liveability Index 2019. Video via The Economist Intelligence Unit on YouTube.

Dominating the bottom of the list of the 140 surveyed cities are rapidly urbanizing metro areas in de...

Vienna tops global Quality of Living index once again

2019-04-08T14:52:00-04:00

Trade tensions and populist undercurrents continue to dominate the global economic climate. Combined with the spectre of monetary policy tightening and volatility looming over markets, international businesses are under more pressure than ever to get their overseas operations right. [...] Globally, Vienna tops the ranking for the 10th year running, closely followed by Zurich (2).

The annual Mercer Quality of Living survey with the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to was recently released in its 2019 edition, and the field of top-ranked locations has not changed much compared to previous years:

1st: Vienna, Austria

2nd: Zurich, Switzerland

3rd (joint): Auckland, New Zealand

3rd (joint): Munich, Germany

3rd (joint): Vancouver, Canada

6th: Düsseldorf, Germany

7th: Frankfurt, Germany

8th: Copenhagen, Denmark

9th: Geneva, Switzerland

10th: Basel, Switzerland

"In North America, Canadian cities continue to score highest with Vancouver (3) ranking highest for overall quality of living, as well as sharing the top spot with Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary for safety," explains the announcement. "All US cities covered in the analysis fell in the rankings this year, with Washington DC (53) the biggest faller. The exception was New York (44), rising one place as crime rates in the city continue to fall. Detroit remains the US cit...

Vienna leads global Quality of Living index for 8th year in a row

2018-04-17T14:49:00-04:00

Despite increased political and financial volatility in Europe, many of its cities offer the world’s highest quality of living and remain attractive destinations for expanding business operations and sending expatriates on assignment, according to Mercer’s 19th annual Quality of Living survey. [...] Vienna occupies first place for overall quality of living for the 8th year running, with the rest of the top-ten list mostly filled by European cities.

The latest annual Mercer Quality of Living survey with the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to was recently released, and the ten top contenders are mostly the same familiar players:

Vienna, Austria
Zurich, Switzerland
Auckland, New Zealand
Munich, Germany
Vancouver, Canada
Dusseldorf, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Geneva, Switzerland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Basel, Switzerland

"In North America, Canadian cities take the top positions in the ranking," the survey summary states. "Vancouver (5) is again the region’s highest ranking city for quality of living. Toronto and Ottawa follow in 16th and 18th place respectively, whereas San Francisco (29) is the highest ranking US city, followed by Boston (35), Honolulu (36), New York (44), and Seattle (45). High crime rates in Los Angeles (58) and Chicago (47) resulted in these cities dropping nine and four places respectively."

Jan Gehl: "Never ask what the city can do for your building, always ask what your building can do for the city."

2016-05-25T20:18:00-04:00

I’m not so critical about New York, because they have this very firm grid-pattern. Even the newer buildings are lined up on good streets. If you stand in front of the Empire State Building, you can’t really guess how tall it is, because it meets the street in a friendly way. [...] It’s not so important how high the building is, or how much it looks like a perfume bottle, it’s more important how it interacts with the city.

Vienna holds top position as world's nicest city for business professionals

2016-02-29T14:08:00-05:00

Vienna has once more been named the city with the best quality of life for business professionals by Mercer Consulting, the world’s biggest human resources company. It headed a top 10 dominated by neighbouring cities in Germany and Switzerland, together with Auckland (3), Vancouver (5) and Sydney (10). The survey is intended to give multinational companies a reference point when deciding how to compensate staff for postings.

According to the Mercer report, the world's most desirable cities for business professionals to relocate to are:

Vienna, Austria
Zurich, Switzerland
Auckland, New Zealand
Munich, Germany
Vancouver, Canada
Dusseldorf, Germany
Frankfurt, Germany
Geneva, Switzerland
Copenhagen, Denmark
Sydney, Australia

"Problems with crime placed most American cities below that level, with the exception of San Francisco (28), Boston (34) and Honolulu (35). The most dangerous city in the US was Detroit (70), which is still recovering from the trauma of de-industrialisation."

Jan Gehl's perspective on making "a good urban habitat for homo sapiens"

2015-08-24T14:09:00-04:00

Every time we build something, we manipulate the conditions of people’s lives, but most planners don’t know enough about this manipulation...I have worked very hard to find out what the life is that goes on inside our buildings and how our buildings influence that life...Because if you just do form, then you are doing sculpture, but if you look after the interaction between life and form, you are doing architecture.

The uncertain future of Moscow's urban renewal ambitions

2015-06-08T20:00:00-04:00

The plan was to create a new type of city that answered the needs of Moscow’s creative middle classes. But did the exit of Sergei Kapkov, the culture minister who ushered in these changes, also signal the end of the city’s urban revival? [...] “Kapkov’s reforms provided a whole generation of young creative types with a sense – perhaps somewhat illusory – that they could do things on a small scale; that there was a real fabric of life in a public city,” said Tsentsiper.

Find your ideal neighborhood with this new 'Livability Index' online tool

2015-04-21T08:30:00-04:00

Every year, surveys and lists are published that purport to know the “best places to live in America,” but AARP’s new livability index is based on exhaustive research and data, providing scores for all of the 200,000-plus Census block groups in the country. Each neighborhood has scores that take into account seven categories: transportation, environment, health, civic and social engagement, and educational and employment opportunities.

Beijing mayor says air pollution makes his city "unlivable"

2015-01-28T17:22:00-05:00

China's smog-shrouded, overcrowded, traffic-choked capital has become unlivable. And that's not the assessment of some tourist or disgruntled cubicle-dweller: That's the mayor talking. [...] "In establishing a top-tier, internationalized livable and harmonious city, Beijing is currently establishing a system of standards, something that is very important," Wang said in comments reported by state news outlets. "At the present time, however, Beijing is not a livable city."