Prepared by IESE Business School´s Centre for Globalisation and Strategy, the Cities in Motion Index 2020 analyses the level of development of 174 world cities.
London has once again been revealed as the smartest and most sustainable city in the world, according to the seventh edition of the IESE Cities in Motion Index 2020.
Prepared by IESE Business School´s Centre for Globalisation and Strategy, the annual index analyses the level of development of 174 world cities.
The cities are analysed across nine dimensions considered key to truly sustainable cities. These are: human capital (developing, attracting and nurturing talent); social cohesion (consensus among the different social groups in a city); economy; environment; governance; urban planning; international projection; technology; and mobility and transportation (ease of movement and access to public services).
New York takes the second spot in the index, followed by Paris. The top 10 list is rounded out by Tokyo (4), Reykjavik (5), Copenhagen (6), Berlin (7), Amsterdam (8), Singapore (9) and Hong Kong (10). At the other end of the index are Lagos, Nigeria (171), Lahore (172) and Karachi (173), Pakistan, and Caracas, Venezuela (174)
According to the report authors, professors Pascual Berrone and Joan Enric Ricart, London’s world-leading ranking is due to it being well placed in almost all nine dimensions. The city comes in first place for human capital, second place for governance and urban planning, and is in the top 10 for the dimensions of mobility and transportation, and technology. Its worst performance can be seen in the dimensions of social cohesion (64th), and the environment (35th).
Promoting a new focus on urban resilience is essential and it can be achieved by combining a solid infrastructure with agile and efficient management
Meanwhile, New York City’s second place is down to the economy, urban planning, mobility and transportation (all position 1) and human capital (position 3). The metropolis also fares poorly in social cohesion (151st) and the environment (69th).
Third in the overall ranking is Paris with a “very good” performance in mobility and transportation, as well as in international projection (2nd in both dimensions). It also occupies a prominent position in human capital, the economy and urban planning.
Globally, cities in Europe continue to dominate the ranking, the index finds, with 27 among the top 50. This select group also includes 14 cities in North American, five in Asia and four in Oceania.
Contextualising these results amid the current pandemic, the report’s authors, provide a set of conclusions and recommendations which highlight the relevance of urban resilience today and the need to promote public-private collaborations:
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