- Auckland, New Zealand
- Osaka, Japan
- Adelaide, Australia
- Wellington, New Zealand
- Tokyo, Japan
- Perth, Australia
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Geneva, Switzerland
- Melbourne, Australia
- Brisbane, Australia
It is clear from this list that New Zealand, Australia, and Japan are dominating the most livable cities of 2021. This is in no small part due to their respective governments’’ achievements fighting against the COVID19 pandemic. New Zealand’s ability to slow the spread and outbreak of the virus allowed them to reopen their cities sooner. This gave the country a massive economic boost as well as a boost to its livability. Healthcare is an important factor when livability is being measured, this is why usual No.1 contenders like Vienna fell in the rankings. At the time that this study was being conducted, Vienna was being rocked by the pandemic. This led from Vienna being back-to-back winners to not even placing within the top 10.
Why Canadian Cities are Losing Their Lead compared to 2019 report
In the 2019 Economist, the most livable cities list looked like this.
- Vienna, Austria
- Melbourne, Australia
- Sydney, Australia
- Osaka, Japan
- Calgary, Canada
- Vancouver, Canada
- (tied) Toronto, Canada
- (tied)Tokyo, Japan
- Copenhagen, Denmark
- Adelaide, Australia
Can you see how Canada is very well represented? In the 2019 results, both Calgary and Vancouver ranked in the top 10. These results were well deserved but unfortunately, since 2019, Calgary and Vancouver have slipped in the rankings. They have both fallen out of the top 10. This is due to a few factors including:
- COVID-19 and the effect on healthcare
The pandemic has greatly affected the world. Businesses and countries and workers have all been suffering as a result. As COVID-19 has had an influence almost everywhere in the world, it has also been very influential on the most livable cities list (btw, read our moving during COVID-19 guide). Cities in Canada have been affected by the pandemic. This has resulted in their ranking falling. Vienna and other cities have also suffered as a result of the pandemic, while cities such as Auckland have excelled as a result of their ability to contain the spread of the virus.
- Education
Countries that have been badly damaged by the pandemic choose to keep their schools closed for a long time. This significantly hurt their score when it came to education. Countries that could avoid such measures were not penalized. This is another factor in the success of countries in Australia and New Zealand.
How does the System Work?
The city livability score is ranked from 1-100 with 100 being the top score. City livability scores are ranked across 30 criteria in five categories. The five categories are listed below:
- Stability. This accounts for 25% of the total score. Stability includes areas such as petty and serious crime, civil conflict, and the threat of military unrest and conflict. Safer countries will score highly in this field while unsafe countries will score poorly.
- Healthcare. The healthcare systems in place in a country account for 20% of their overall livability score. Healthcare is scored after considering the quality of private healthcare, public healthcare, availability of over-the-counter medication as well as healthcare indicators.
- Culture and Environment. Culture and the environment account for 25% of the total score. This accounts for the climate and humidity as well as corruption, and social and religious restrictions. This also covers the sports, culture and food and drink in the city.
- Education. Education equates to only 10% of the total score. Education will include factors such as the availability and quality of private education as well as the public education systems in place in a city.
- Infrastructure. Infrastructure accounts for 20% of the score. Infrastructure accounts for roads, public transport, international access, availability of quality housing, telecommunications as well as energy and water quality.
There are clear flaws with how this scoring system is broken down. Aspects such as infrastructure and access to housing should be at least an equal share to factors like culture and the environment. Healthcare is also an important aspect of livability. This is why this aspect should have a bigger portion of the score. On top of this, education only equates to 10% of the total score. A good education system with excellent universities and schools will greatly enhance the livability of a city.
The scoring of this system means that the results should be taken with a pinch of salt. While the scoring system provides a good indication of the livability of a city, the results can be skewed. This means that while it is good publicity to score high on the livability index, the results do not mean a whole lot as cities could perform much better in areas such as infrastructure and education but not do well in other areas. This will lead to these cities receiving a lower score despite focusing on important factors to further their development.
What Does the Future Look Like for Canadian Cities?
The future looks bright for Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Calgary. The end of the pandemic is in sight and the vaccine rollout is starting to be successful. This will allow education facilities to reopen and it will also allow healthcare facilities to run smoothly. These are two areas that hurt both Calgary’s and Vancouver’s scores. This means that when they return to normal, we should expect an increase in their livability score. This will attract a variety of new residents to Vancouver and Calgary.
An improved livability score will ensure that people will be moving from Vancouver to Calgary and moving from Calgary to Vancouver once again. People moving to these cities to join the workforce will stimulate the economy, which in turn will lead to further increases in the livability of these cities.
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