![]() ![]() In 2019, Vienna topped not only Mercer’s rankings but also the EIU’s index, while it occupied a comfortable fourth place on Monocle’s top ten Zurich, the number two on Mercer’s list, featured first on Monocle’s Copenhagen featured on all three lists Munich featured on two out of three, as did Vancouver and Melbourne. The others are the annual Global Liveability Index by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), The Economist’s research and analysis division, published since 1999, and the ‘most liveable cities index’ by lifestyle magazine and media brand Monocle, published since 2008.ĭespite the differences in measuring methods, the lists tend to feature the same cities. Mercer’s Quality of Living Survey is one of three major city liveability rankings. The top four: the political environment, health considerations, public services and the availability of consumer goods account for respectively 23.5, 19, 13 and 10.7 per cent-two-thirds of the overall scoring-while the remaining categories each contribute less than 10 per cent.ĭepending on their overall score, cities emerge as ‘ideal’ (80–100 per cent), ‘acceptable’ (70–80 per cent), ‘tolerable’ (60–70 per cent), ‘uncomfortable’ (50–60 per cent), ‘undesirable’ (less than 50 per cent) or ‘intolerable’ (no percentage given), which is further explained as there being ‘few’, ‘some’, ‘certain’, ‘substantial’, ‘extensive’ or ‘insurmountable’ challenges to liveability. The further a category is down the list, the lower its share in the weighted average between categories. Marks per category are then weighted according to perceived importance. The average of the marks within each group of criteria determines the eventual mark for each of the ten categories. ![]() The evaluation happens along a fixed set of criteria-thirty- nine to be precise, grouped into ten categories: 1) the political and social environment, assessing factors such as political stability, crime and law enforcement 2) medical and health considerations, looking at medical supplies and services, the prevalence of infectious diseases, potable water, air pollution and the presence of dangerous animals or insects 3) public services and transportation, listing electricity, water, public transportation and traffic congestion 4) consumer goods, considering the availability of food and daily consumption items 5) recreation, looking at the availability of restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure facilities 6) the sociocultural environment, weighing (media) censorship and limitations on personal freedom 7) the natural environment, focusing on the city’s record of natural disasters 8) housing, assessing the standard and cost of (rental) accommodation, household appliances, furniture, and maintenance and repair services 9) the economic environment, considering currency exchange regulations and banking services 10) education, focusing on the availability of international schools.Įach of the thirty-nine criteria receives marks on a scale of 0 to 10. The list aims to provide internationally operating companies with a basis upon which to establish hardship allowances for employees sent on assignments abroad. It does so by assessing the living conditions of more than 450 cities worldwide, 231 of which make it to the actual list. Since 1998, global human resources consulting firm Mercer has been publishing an annual list of the most liveable cities in the world. A heartfelt thank you to Reinier de Graaf and Tim Thomas at Verso for collaborating so well to make this possible. ![]() Photo by Adrienne Norman.Įditor’s Note: The following is an excerpt from Reinier de Graaf’s recently published book, Architect, Verb.: The New Language of Building, critically analyzing Vancouver within the context of its claims of ‘liveability’. ![]()
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