August 14, 2018

Austria’s capital Vienna has beaten Melbourne to be ranked the “World’s most liveable City” in a new annual survey released Monday, ending the southern Australian city’s 7-year reign.

It is the 1st time a European metropolis has topped the annual chart compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit which identifies the best urban playgrounds to live and work in.

Each year 140 cities are given scores out of 100 on a range of factors such as living standards, crime, transport infrastructure, access to education & healthcare, as well as political & economic stability.

Vienna scored a “near-ideal” 99.1, beating Melbourne into 2nd place on 98.4. Japan’s Osaka took 3rd place.

Australia & Canada dominated the top 10, each boasting 3 cities. Australia had Melbourne, Sydney (5th) & Adelaide (10th) while Canada had Calgary (4th), Vancouver (6th) & Toronto (joint 7th).

“Those that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries,” researchers said in their report.

They also noted that several cities in the top 10 had relatively low population densities which fostered “a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure”.

The Australian & Canadian cities in the top 10, for example, had an average of 3.2 & 4 people per square kilometre respectively, compared to a global average of 58.

Japan, which alongside Osaka boasted Tokyo in the top 10 (joint 7th), is the glaring exception to that rule with a nationwide urban average of 347 people per square kilometre but cities famed for their transport networks & living standards.

Copenhagen was the only other European city in the top 10 at 9th place.

Researchers said that wealthy financial capitals such as Paris (19th), London (48th) & New York (57th) tended to be “victims of their own success” with higher crime rates & overstretched infrastructure dampening their appeal.

At the other end of the spectrum the 5 worst cities to live in were Damascus at the bottom of the table followed by Dhaka, Lagos, Karachi & Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea.

The survey also looked at cities where long-term improvements had been made. Abidjan, Hanoi, Belgrade & Tehran saw the largest improvements in liveability over the last 5 years - more than 5 percentage points.

Ukraine’s Kiev, the capital of a European country wracked by political violence, civil war & the loss of Crimea to Russia, saw the largest drop in its liveability over the last 5 years (-12.6%).

Puerto Rico’s San Juan - which was devastated by a hurricane last year – as well as Damascus & Caracas also saw steep drops over the same period.

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