Auckland, Wellington plummet in livable city ratings
Stuff reports:
Auckland and Wellington were top of the pops last year, rated the world’s second and fourth most liveable cities.
This year, they have dropped down the rankings like a stone – and Covid-19 is largely to blame.
The 2022 Global Liveability Index, by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked cities around the world on factors including health care, crime rates, political stability, infrastructure and access to green space.
It ranked Auckland 34th out of 173, a considerable drop from second in 2021. …
Wellington also experienced a notable drop, falling to 50th from fourth in 2021. …
The city in first place this year is Vienna, Austria. In last place is Damascus, Syria.
Vienna is a beautiful city – my favourite city in Europe. Pleased to see we still rank higher than Damascus.
The top 11 are:
- Vienna
- Copenhagen
- Zurich
- Calgary
- Vancouver
- Geneva
- Frankfurt
- Toronto
- Amsterdam
- Osaka
- Melbourne
I’ve been to most of those cities. Slightly surprised Frankfurt ranks so highly. I do love Vancouver.
The cities that have dropped the most are:
- Wellington -46
- Auckland -33
- Adelaide -27
- Perth -26
- Houston -25
- Reykjavik -25
- Madrid -24
- Taipei -20
- Barcelona -19
- Brisbane -17
The ratings are based on five criteria:
- Stability 25% (crime etc)
- Healthcare 20%
- Culture/Environment 25%
- Education 10%
- Infrastructure 20%
I suspect the rise in inner city crime in Auckland and Wellington will be a factor in the droppings.