Melbourne has been declared the most liveable city in the world for the seventh year running by the Economist’s annual global liveability survey, while Sydney remains in 11th place.
It is the first time in the survey’s 15-year history that a city has held the No 1 rank in its own right for seven consecutive years.
The annual survey assesses 140 cities and ranks them according to their stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education, and infrastructure. Only “cities or business centres that people might want to live in or visit”, as determined by the survey’s authors, are included, so cities such as Kabul and Baghdad are left off the list.
All five Australian cities included in the survey are ranked inside the top 20: Adelaide at equal fifth place with Calgary in Canada; Perth ranked seventh; Sydney 11th, and Brisbane 16th. Just 3.3 percentage points separate the cities.
According to the 2017 report, cities that score best “tend to be mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density. These can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure.”
But Demographer Mark McCrindle argued “Brisbane could most definitely make a strong claim over Melbourne as the most liveable city,” Brisbane is half the (population) size of Melbourne, it’s more sustainable and wages are similar, but house prices in Brisbane are far cheaper. I see the next decade or so shining a light on Brisbane and getting one up on Melbourne as being far more liveable.”
Brisbane’s Lord Mayor Graham Quirk said the “new world city” was only getting better as a place to live.
“Brisbane is a liveable city with great weather, vibrant green spaces, lively bars and restaurants, world-class art galleries and premier events” Cr Quirk said.
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