Amsterdam slips down to
12th in best city rankings
15 March 2005
AMSTERDAM — The Dutch capital of Amsterdam has slipped down two positions to 12th in the rankings of the top 50 best cities to live in.
The slip may be a result of the ongoing traffic problems in Amsterdam which were cited by news agency ANP after last year's survey.
The Mercer Human Resource Consulting 2005 quality of life survey once again listed Amsterdam as the only Dutch city in the top 50.
"Nothing has changed about Amsterdam; it is just that other countries have moved up the rankings, 12th is a good position to be in," a senior researcher at Mercer, Slagin Parakatil, said.
"What let the Amsterdam down is its air pollution, although compared to other [url="http://clk.atdmt.com/ERA/go/xptcxall0020000022era/direct/01/"][/url]cities it is relatively low. And its crime figures, scoring only eight out if ten in this area."
The survey is based on 39 categories for the standard of living, some of which include health, education, public services and transportation, recreation and housing as well as economic and environmental issues.
Factors such as traffic congestion, number and performance of schools available, levels of pollution and the standards of sanitation are all taken into consideration.
All cities are judged against base city New York which has 100 points and ranks 39th overall.
Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland retain joint first position for the overall best quality of life.
Europe, particularly Germany, continues to perform well in the survey. The city of Munich moved from 10th position and Düsseldorf from 12th position to join Frankfurt in joint fifth.
Munich climbed as a result of improving its waste removal systems and housing facilities for expats. Düsseldorf improved their schooling facilities, scoring 10/10, and housing scored 9/10.
Other key European cities were at the lower end of the rankings. London dropped three places to joint 39th with New York and Kobe, because of its high rates of petty crime. Paris ranked 31st due to crime rates, pollution and traffic congestion.
Milan dropped out of the top 50, while Rome has failed to make it there at all. Madrid moved down three and Barcelona up three places to share joint 42nd, let down by their levels of air pollution.
The Iraqi city of Baghdad holds on to its unenvied position as the worst place to live due to the ongoing state of unrest in the country and constant threat of attacks. Luxembourg, in contrast, is the city with the highest level of personal safety.
"The top ranking cities for personal safety and security are in politically stable countries with good international relations and sustainable growth," Parakatil said.
Cities on the African continent also performed poorly with Brazzaville in Congo scoring just 29.5 points and Bangui in the Central African Republic scoring 29.
Canadian cities are performing well with the highest safety rankings in North America and Calgary continuing to be the healthiest city in the survey.
The Greek capital Athens remains the unhealthiest city due to pollution and continuing problems with sanitation.
American cities are still sliding slowly after last year's slump, a result of tighter immigration laws which was making life harder for expats. "Increased security checks on arrivals and departures from the country can be very time-consuming for expatriates," the survey said in 2004.
"Cities in the top 50 are generally happy with their positions. Moving a couple of ranks up or down doesn't really have any significance, most cities move down as others improve," Parakatil said.
"Those cities outside the top 50 want to know what it is they are doing wrong and how to improve," he said.
[Copyright Expatica 2005] |
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