Toronto fourth most livable city in the world: The Economist
According to The Economist’s annual ranking of global cities, Toronto is the fourth most livable city in the world. Hogtown scored 97.2 out of a possible 100 points—a rating that considers a number of indicators under the categories of stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Each indicator is rated according to acceptability, and each category is given a certain amount of weight, all of which are then amassed to assess the locations around the world that have the best and worst living conditions. Toronto’s scores, after the jump.
Rank: 4 Overall rating: 97.2 Stability: 100 Health care: 100 Culture and environment: 97.2 Education: 100 Infrastructure: 89.3
The top 10 spots are dominated mostly by Canadian and Australian cities: Vancouver took first place with 98.0, Melbourne is second with 97.5, while Calgary is fifth with 96.6. Rounding out the top 10 are Vienna (3), Helsinki (6), Sydney (7), Perth (8), Adelaide (9) and Auckland (10).
So what makes a high-ranking city? According to the report, “Cities that score best tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. This often fosters a broad range of recreational availability without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure.” The report notes that Vancouver maintained its top spot from last year partially thanks to its Olympic economic boost: “Vancouver (Canada) remains at the top of the ranking, a position that can only have been cemented by the successful hosting of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which provided a boost to the infrastructure and culture and environment categories.”
This being The Economist, the stats have a lot to do with money. Apparently, the report can have an effect on global salary distribution; some companies use the information to determine hardship allowances for employees relocated to some of the cities on the low end of the scale. Cities like those in the bottom ten: Colombo (130), Dakar (131), Tehran (132), Douala (133), Karachi (134), Algiers (135), Lagos (136), Port Moresby (137), Dhaka (138) and Harare (140).
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