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Toronto has climbed a spot to become the fourth most liveable city in the world, according to a poll that singled out Vancouver as the best place on Earth to live on list of 140 cities. Australian and Canadian cities dominated the list, providing six of the top 10 entries in the Global Liveability Survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"This is a great city and Torontonians know that, but it's nice when someone else recognizes it," Mayor David Miller said. "Liveability is an extremely strong characteristic of ours. We're prosperous, with a very strong business base. We're progressive and we're safe."
The survey analyzed data from correspondents around the world to score 140 cities on more than 30 factors affecting living conditions, giving each a score ranging from one (intolerable) to 100 (ideal). Vancouver fell short of the perfect score by only 2%, with the authors blaming petty crime and housing concerns. At the bottom, political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe combined to make its capital, Harare, the worst place to live, with a score of 37.5.
Andre Sorensen, a professor at the University of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Community Studies, expressed concern about any attempt to quantify liveability: "Each individual has a different set of criteria," he said, before noting that the survey was right to highlight Toronto. "It's possible to live without a car, which is fantastic. There's a vibrant downtown where lots of people live. It's extremely liveable, especially when you compare it with some American cities, where the downtown has been devastated," he said.
U. S. cities fared poorly on the list, with Pittsburgh ranked best, at 29th. "In Toronto, there are thousands of people working to make it a better place. When you are able to get together with your neighbours and feel like you can do something to make a difference, that makes the city feel more liveable," Prof. Sorensen said. Some of the world's largest cities fell well short of the top 10, beaten out by their mid-sized counterparts. John Copestake, the editor of the report, used two English examples to explain why. "London and Manchester both benefit from the attractions that a big city offers, but also suffer from the problems that can be faced such as crime, the threat of terrorist attacks and overloaded transport infrastructure," he said.
Prof. Sorensen said Toronto, already on the large side, will need to make changes if it wants to stay in the top 10 in the coming years as Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York become increasingly urban. "Planning for how the inner suburbs will change is a big challenge. The transit isn't good enough yet. We're already beginning to see concentrations of poverty there and social services will need to improve."
TOP CITIES
1 Vancouver ......... score: 98.0
2 Vienna .......................... 97.9
3 Melbourne .................... 97.5
4 Toronto ........................ 97.2
5 Perth ............................ 96.6
5 Calgary ......................... 96.6
7 Helsinki ........................ 96.2
8 Geneva ......................... 96.1
8 Sydney .......................... 96.1
8 Zurich ........................... 96.1
Toronto has climbed a spot to become the fourth most liveable city in the world, according to a poll that singled out Vancouver as the best place on Earth to live on list of 140 cities. Australian and Canadian cities dominated the list, providing six of the top 10 entries in the Global Liveability Survey published by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"This is a great city and Torontonians know that, but it's nice when someone else recognizes it," Mayor David Miller said. "Liveability is an extremely strong characteristic of ours. We're prosperous, with a very strong business base. We're progressive and we're safe."
The survey analyzed data from correspondents around the world to score 140 cities on more than 30 factors affecting living conditions, giving each a score ranging from one (intolerable) to 100 (ideal). Vancouver fell short of the perfect score by only 2%, with the authors blaming petty crime and housing concerns. At the bottom, political and economic turmoil in Zimbabwe combined to make its capital, Harare, the worst place to live, with a score of 37.5.
Andre Sorensen, a professor at the University of Toronto's Centre for Urban and Community Studies, expressed concern about any attempt to quantify liveability: "Each individual has a different set of criteria," he said, before noting that the survey was right to highlight Toronto. "It's possible to live without a car, which is fantastic. There's a vibrant downtown where lots of people live. It's extremely liveable, especially when you compare it with some American cities, where the downtown has been devastated," he said.
U. S. cities fared poorly on the list, with Pittsburgh ranked best, at 29th. "In Toronto, there are thousands of people working to make it a better place. When you are able to get together with your neighbours and feel like you can do something to make a difference, that makes the city feel more liveable," Prof. Sorensen said. Some of the world's largest cities fell well short of the top 10, beaten out by their mid-sized counterparts. John Copestake, the editor of the report, used two English examples to explain why. "London and Manchester both benefit from the attractions that a big city offers, but also suffer from the problems that can be faced such as crime, the threat of terrorist attacks and overloaded transport infrastructure," he said.
Prof. Sorensen said Toronto, already on the large side, will need to make changes if it wants to stay in the top 10 in the coming years as Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York become increasingly urban. "Planning for how the inner suburbs will change is a big challenge. The transit isn't good enough yet. We're already beginning to see concentrations of poverty there and social services will need to improve."
TOP CITIES
1 Vancouver ......... score: 98.0
2 Vienna .......................... 97.9
3 Melbourne .................... 97.5
4 Toronto ........................ 97.2
5 Perth ............................ 96.6
5 Calgary ......................... 96.6
7 Helsinki ........................ 96.2
8 Geneva ......................... 96.1
8 Sydney .......................... 96.1
8 Zurich ........................... 96.1
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