Seattle isn't yet a world-beater, at least by one respected survey. It is, however, in the game.
The Economist Intelligence Unit released its liveability rankings for 140 world cities this month and Seattle rates a so-so, at best. To be fair, not one U.S. city cracked the top 10. In Canada, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary ranked third, fourth and fifth worldwide respectively.
Coming in No. 1 was Melbourne, followed closely by Vienna. The least liveable cities were Tripoli and Damascus.
Seattle ranked No. 43 worldwide, the eighth best for an American city. Honolulu, Washington, Boston, Chicago, Miami, Pittsburgh and Minneapolis were above us. LA, Atlanta, Cleveland, San Francisco, Houston, New York and Detroit were below.
The report explains, “Every city is assigned a rating of relative comfort for over 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five broad categories: stability; healthcare; culture and environment; education; and infrastructure…. For qualitative indicators, a rating is awarded based on the judgment of in-house analysts and in-city contributors.”
Most Read Business Stories
The big issues dominating the report are stability or lack thereof, and world commerce centers being “victims of their own success” and not keeping up with infrastructure and crime. Seattle’s problem is not so much a lacking, although we do lack a true international air hub and adequate rail transit, but fierce competition for the higher spots.
One can always complain about methodology. Calgary…really? But unlike the lists pitched to me almost every day, the EIU, a sibling of the Economist magazine, carries gravitas. Top executives and site selectors pay attention.
On the other hand, don’t expect this to transport Seattle back to whatever golden year that once existed.
Today’s Econ Haiku:
The EpiPen’s cost
What caused the drug’s big increase?
A sickness called greed