A new survey ranking the world’s cities in terms of liveability has ranked Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary among the top ten in the world.
Vancouver, which had been the number one ranked city in the survey for the nearly a decade, moved to number three on the list, which is compiled and released by the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU). Toronto and Calgary were fourth and fifth on the list, respectively.
The survey ranks 140 cities of the world based on five categories – living conditions, including infrastructure, stability, healthcare, education and culture and environment.
The top three-ranked cities, Melbourne (Australia), Vienna (Austria) and Vancouver all tied in terms of stability, health care and education. Vancouver topped the other two cities in terms of culture and environment.
However, Vancouver’s lower ranking was the result of a drop in points for the infrastructure transport category, due to problems with highway closures on Vancouver Island. Some observers wondered why this would affect the rating but EIU officials say that “regional” traffic concerns must be taken into account in their methodology.
“The concept of liveability is simple: it assesses which locations around the world provide the best or the worst living conditions,” said the EIU in a statement.
Source: Globe and Mail
Vancouver Sun