Vienna crowned as world's most livable city

VIENNA－Austria's capital has beaten Melbourne to be ranked the "world's most livable city" in a new annual survey released on Monday, ending the southern Australian city's seven-year reign.

It is the first time a European city 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 and healthcare, as well as political and economic stability.

Vienna scored a "near-ideal"99.1, beating Melbourne into second place on 98.4. Japan's Osaka took third place.

Australia and Canada dominated the top 10, each boasting three cities. Australia had Melbourne, Sydney (fifth) and Adelaide (10th) while Canada had Calgary (fourth), Vancouver (sixth) and Toronto (joint seventh).

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

They 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".

Australia and Canada, researchers said, have an overall average population density of 3.2 and four people per square kilometer respectively, compared to a global average of 58.

Japan, which alongside Osaka boasted Tokyo in the top 10 (joint seventh), is the glaring exception to that rule with a nationwide average of 347 people per sq km but its cities are still famed for their transport networks and living standards.

Other end of the table

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

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

At the other end of the table, Damascus retained last place, followed by the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, and Lagos in Nigeria. The survey does not include several of the world's most dangerous capitals, such as Baghdad and Kabul.

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

AFP-Reuters