European cities remain prominent among the best cities in which to live, according to Mercer’s annual quality of living rankings released on 26 May 2010. Vienna retains its 2009 position as the city with the world’s best quality of living, followed again by Zurich, with Geneva in third place. Canadian city Vancouver and Auckland, New Zealand take joint fourth place in the rankings.
The highest ranking US cities are Honolulu and San Francisco at numbers 31 and 32. Singapore leads the Asian cities at 28, followed by Tokyo at 40.
The Purpose of Mercer’s City Rankings
The rankings are designed to guide governments and multi-national companies assess remuneration packages for employees on international assignments. “Quality of living standards remained relatively stable on a global level throughout 2009 and the first half of 2010,” said Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at Mercer. “But in certain regions and countries the economic recession had a noticeable impact on the business climate.”
Mercer says in its press statement of 26 May that the ranking index has been revised, and now covers 221 cities, six more than in 2009. This means a disruption to trend analysis, which cannot occur until 2011. The new criteria for inclusion “better reflects where companies are sending their expatriate employees in the current business environment.” Baghdad remains at the bottom of the list.
Mercer’s Top Ten Cities by Quality of Living
- Vienna, Austria (1st)
- Zurich, Switzerland (2nd)
- Geneva, Switzerland (3rd)
- Vancouver, Canada (4th equal)
- Auckland, New Zealand (4th equal)
- Dusseldorf, Germany (6th)
- Frankfurt, Germany (7th equal)
- Munich, Germany (7th equal)
- Bern, Switzerland (9th)
- Sydney, Australia (10th)
The Best Eco-Cities are also Identified
Cities are also ranked in 2010 by water availability and drinkability, waste removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion. On this score, Calgary is at the top of the list, followed by Honolulu, Ottawa and Helsinki (joint third) and Wellington in New Zealand. At the bottom of this list is Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
In commenting on the eco-city rankings, Mr Parakatil explained that a high-ranking eco-city optimises its use of renewable energy sources and generates the lowest possible quantity of pollution (air, water, noise, etc).
“A city’s eco-status or attitude toward sustainability can have significant impact on the quality of living of its inhabitants,” Mr Parakatil said. “A certain standard of sustainability is essential for city living and forms a very important part of its inhabitants’ quality of living. Though a high standard of living may be taken for granted in certain cities, a lack thereof is much more noticeable and can even lead to severe hardship.”
Mercer’s Top Eco-City Rankings
- Calgary, Canada (1st)
- Honolulu, United States (2nd)
- Ottawa, Canada (3rd equal)
- Helsinki, Finland (3rd equal)
- Wellington, New Zealand (5th)
- Minneapolis, United States (6th)
- Adelaide, Australia (7th)
- Copenhagen, Denmark (8th)
- Kobe, Japan (9th equal)
- Oslo, Norway (9th equal)
- Stockholm, Sweden (9th equal)
To allow valid comparisons to be made, Mercer’s index is based on an evaluation of local living according to many factors. These come under the broad categories of political, social, economic, and sociocultural environment, health, education, recreation, availability of consumer goods, housing and the natural environment.
The Perils of International Country and City Ranking Studies
Reference
Mercer.com, Quality of Living worldwide city rankings 2010 – Mercer survey, Press Release 26 May 2010
Brian Cross - Brian is a feelance writer specialising in content for the corporate sector, based in Wellington, New Zealand.
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