Japan’s Osaka, Tokyo Made The Cut Of World’s Most Liveable Cities In 2018
It’s becoming more evident that we now live in the Asian century as four modern cities on the continent joined the elite list of the world’s most liveable locations this 2018. Two Japanese cities landed on the top 10 while Singapore and Hong Kong captured the 37th and 35th spots, respectively, in the annual Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Liveability Index.
Osaka at number three trailed behind the first placer Vienna (Austria) and second best Melbourne (Australia) but the Japanese city’s ranking represented a giant leap for Asian capitals. As noted by Property Report, no Asian cities were listed by EIU researchers in 2017 so Osaka’s top-three finish is nothing short of impressive.
Adding to that honour is Tokyo reaching number seven in this year’s ranking, indicating that Asian capitals have been making significant headways to best compete with rival cities found outside of the region. Osaka and Tokyo, according to CNN, achieved higher places in the 2018 survey “thanks to a decline in crime rates as well as improvements in public transportation.”
World-Class Living Spaces In Asia
Further making the case for Osaka’s outstanding ranking is the city’s high score in quality of live and ready availability of public transport. The latter, it appeared, is a direct result of the Japanese government’s sufficient investments on infrastructure projects.
The city likewise benefitted from stability as manifested by “a consistent decline in crime rates,” the EIU report said.
The new survey also proved favourable to Hong Kong, posting a rating of 91.3 percent that effectively erased a forgettable showing in 2015 when the former Crown Colony saw a steep dip in the ranking, which was then blamed to brewing political unrest.
For its part, Singapore scored high in the public health category that allowed the city to remain in the top circle but the 2018 rating was not enough for the city-state to ascend to the top ten. Of note too is that this year, the Lion City ceded its lead in the index over Hong Kong.
World’s Best City
The EIU report also saw the toppling of Melbourne, Australia as the world’s best city in terms of liveability index. The new number one, Vienna, garnered the highest mark that was based on the following: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Prior to the 2018 rating, Melbourne reigned for seven long years as EIU’s top choice with Vienna almost always coming in a close second.
