From: "Scott Vaught" <svaught09@windstream.net>
Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 10:33 AM
To: "Scott Vaught" <svaught09@windstream.net>
Subject: Fw: Hiroshima, then and now.
|
|
|
|
Swiss and German
cities dominate
|
|
2009 Rank
|
2008 Rank
|
City
|
Country
|
|
1
|
=2
|
Vienna | Austria |
|
2
|
1
|
Zurich | Switzerland |
|
3
|
=2
|
Geneva | Switzerland |
|
=4
|
4
|
Vancouver | Canada |
|
=4
|
5
|
Auckland | New Zealand |
|
6
|
6
|
Düsseldorf | Germany |
|
7
|
=7
|
Munich | Germany |
|
8
|
=7
|
Frankfurt | Germany |
|
9
|
9
|
Bern | Switzerland |
|
10
|
10
|
Sydney | Australia |
|
11
|
11
|
Copenhagen | Denmark |
|
12
|
12
|
Wellington | New Zealand |
|
13
|
13
|
Amsterdam | Netherlands |
|
14
|
14
|
Brussels | Belgium |
|
15
|
15
|
Toronto | Canada |
|
+16
|
19
|
Ottawa | Canada |
|
=16
|
16
|
Berlin | Germany |
|
18
|
+17
|
Melbourne | Australia |
|
19
|
=17
|
Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
|
20
|
20
|
Stockholm | Sweden |
|
21
|
21
|
Perth | Australia |
|
22
|
22
|
Montreal | Canada |
|
23
|
23
|
Nürnberg | Germany |
|
24
|
24
|
Oslo | Norway |
|
25
|
=25
|
Dublin | Ireland |
|
=26
|
32
|
Singapore | Singapore |
|
=26
|
25
|
Calgary | Canada |
|
28
|
27
|
Hamburg | Germany |
|
29
|
28
|
Honolulu | USA |
|
=30
|
=29
|
San Francisco | USA |
|
=30
|
=29
|
Helsinki | Finland |
|
=30
|
=29
|
Adelaide | Australia |
|
32
|
32
|
Paris | France |
|
34
|
34
|
Brisbane | Australia |
|
=35
|
35
|
Tokyo | Japan |
|
=35
|
37
|
Boston | USA |
|
37
|
36
|
Lyon | France |
|
=38
|
38
|
Yokohama | Japan |
|
=38
|
38
|
London | UK |
|
40
|
40
|
Kobe | Japan |
|
41
|
41
|
Milan | Italy |
|
=42
|
48
|
Portland | USA |
|
=42
|
42
|
Barcelona | Spain |
|
=44
|
=44
|
Washington DC | USA |
|
=44
|
=44
|
Osaka | Japan |
|
=44
|
=44
|
Lisbon | Portugal |
|
=44
|
=44
|
Chicago | USA |
|
48
|
43
|
Madrid | Spain |
|
49
|
49
|
New York City | USA |
|
50
|
49
|
Seattle | USA |
The Americas
There have been few changes in the rankings for North American cities. Canadian cities still dominate the top of the index for this region. Vancouver (4) retains the top spot and Honolulu (29) is the city in the United States with the highest quality of living. Washington and New York remain in positions 44 and 49 respectively.
In Central and South America, San Juan in Puerto Rico retains the highest ranking at 72, followed by Montevideo at 79. Port au Prince (206) in Haiti continues to rank lowest in the region and has gone down four places in the overall ranking due to food shortages experienced in 2008 and the subsequent riots.
In terms of city infrastructure, Vancouver (6) again tops the ranking for the whole of the region, with Atlanta following in position 15. Santiago in Chile has the best city infrastructure in Central and South America, whereas Port au Prince is again the lowest ranking at 212.
Europe
Europe’s cities once more dominate the world’s top 10 for quality of living. Vienna is the city rated with the best quality of living worldwide, moving up one place in the rankings following improvements in Austria’s political and social environment. The rest of the top 10 for Europe are dominated by German and Swiss cities, most of them retaining last year’s ranking and scores. Zurich, in second place, is followed by Geneva (3), Dusseldorf (6), Munich (7), Frankfurt (8) and Bern (9).
Many Eastern European cities have seen an increase in quality of living. A number of countries, which joined the European Union back in 2004 have experienced consistent improvement with increased stability, rising living standards and greater availability of international consumer goods. Ljubljana in Slovenia, for example, moves up four places to reach 78 while Bratislava moves up three places to 88. Zagreb moves three places to 103.
In the city infrastructure index, German cities fair particularly well with Munich (2) the highest ranked in the region, followed by Düsseldorf (6) and Frankfurt in joint eighth place with London. “German city infrastructure is amongst the best in the world, in part due to its first class airport facilities and connections to other international destinations,” said Mercer Consulting.
London’s ranking in the infrastructure index reflects the high level of public services offered, with its extensive public transport network and wide variety of telecommunication services.
Middle East and Africa
Dubai (77) in the United Arab Emirates and Port Louis in Mauritius (82) are the region’s cities with the best quality of living. Dubai’s transport facilities have witnessed improvements, with the development of its road infrastructure and expansion of its international airport, and the city is up six places in the ranking. Cape Town in South Africa, previously the city in the region with the best quality of living, has dropped substantially in this year’s ratings (from 80 to 87 in 2009). This move follows violent riots in South Africa’s main cities in 2008.
Baghdad (215) retains its position at the bottom of the table, though its index score has increased (from 13.5 to 14.4 in 2009) due to some slight improvements in its infrastructure and steps taken to encourage investment. Nevertheless, the lack of security and stability continue to have a large impact on quality of living and the city’s score remains far behind Bangui (29.3) in the Central African Republic, which is second to last.
In the city infrastructure index, most of the region’s cities rank below 100. The exceptions are Dubai (35),Tel Aviv (55) Jerusalem (70), Abu Dhabi (72), Port Louis in Mauritius (92) and Cairo (93). Baghdad (215) is again at the bottom of the list with a city infrastructure score of 19.6, while Port Harcourt in Nigeria is at 214, scoring 30.5.
Asia-Pacific
Auckland (4) retains its position as the highest-ranking city for quality of living in the region. Sydney follows at 10 and Wellington in New Zealand at 12. While the majority of the region’s cities retain a similar ranking to last year, Singapore (26) is the region’s highest riser, up six places since 2008. The city has gained importance as a financial centre and offers a wide range of international and private schools to cater to its expatriate community. Beijing has also moved three places in the ranking, up from 116 to 113, mainly due to improvements in public transport facilities from the 2008 Olympic Games.
Dropping down in the rankings, mainly due to a decline in stability and security are Bangkok (from 109 in 2008 to 120) and Mumbai (from 142 to 148). Thailand’s political turmoil continued throughout 2008 and 2009 with frequent and violent demonstrations and rallies taking place in Bangkok. Terrorist attacks in Mumbai have led to the city’s decline in quality of living for expatriates. Dhaka in Bangladesh holds the lowest ranking in the region at 205.
For city infrastructure, Singapore has the highest score world-wide (109.1). The city boasts an airport with excellent facilities and connections, as well as an efficient and extensive public transport network. Other high rankers in the region include Hong Kong (8), Sydney (11) and Tokyo (12). Dhaka ranks lowest in the region at 197.
The world's top cities offering the best infrastructure
(New York City is the base city with a score of 100 points)
|
2009 Rank
|
City
|
Country
|
|
1
|
Singapore | Singapore |
|
2
|
Munich | Germany |
|
3
|
Copenhagen | Denmark |
|
4
|
Tsukuba | Japan |
|
5
|
Yokohama | Japan |
|
=6
|
Düsseldorf | Germany |
|
=6
|
Vancouver | Canada |
|
=8
|
Frankfurt | Germany |
|
=8
|
Hong Kong | China |
|
=8
|
London | UK |
|
11
|
Sydney | Australia |
|
12
|
Tokyo | Japan |
|
13
|
Paris | France |
|
14
|
Zurich | Switzerland |
|
=15
|
Bern | Switzerland |
|
=15
|
Montreal | Canada |
|
=15
|
Atlanta | USA |
|
=18
|
Toronto | Canada |
|
=18
|
Vienna | Austria |
|
=20
|
Hamburg | Germany |
|
=20
|
Helsinki | Finland |
|
=20
|
Oslo | Norway |
|
=20
|
Stockholm | Sweden |
|
=24
|
Brussels | Belgium |
|
=24
|
Washington DC | USA |
|
26
|
Amsterdam | Netherlands |
|
27
|
Nürnberg | Germany |
|
28
|
Chicago | USA |
|
=29
|
Berlin | Germany |
|
=29
|
Nagoya | Japan |
|
=29
|
Osaka | Japan |
|
32
|
New York City | USA |
|
33
|
Boston | USA |
|
34
|
Kobe | Japan |
|
=35
|
Dubai | UAE |
|
=35
|
Geneva | Switzerland |
|
=35
|
Melbourne | Australia |
|
=38
|
Adelaide | Australia |
|
=38
|
Brisbane | Australia |
|
=38
|
Perth | Australia |
|
41
|
Honolulu | USA |
|
42
|
Ottawa | Canada |
|
=43
|
Auckland | New Zealand |
|
=43
|
Madrid | Spain |
|
=45
|
Birmingham | UK |
|
=45
|
Glasgow | UK |
|
=47
|
Wellington | New Zealand |
|
=47
|
Miami | USA |
|
=49
|
Houston | USA |
|
=49
|
Seattle | USA |
|
=49
|
Milan | Italy |
Research
methodology
Mercer Consulting largely collected its data between September and November 2008 and is regularly updated to take account of changing circumstances. In particular, the assessments are revised in the case of any new developments. The Mercer database contains more than 420 cities, however only 215 cities have been considered for the quality of living 2008 ranking in order to compare them from one year to the next.
Mercer evaluates local living conditions in all the 420 cities it surveys worldwide. Living conditions are analysed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories:
* Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)
* Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)
* Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)
* Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)
* Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc)
* Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)
* Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc)
* Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)
* Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)
* Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)
The scores attributed to each factor allow for city-to-city comparisons to be made. The result is a Quality of Living Index, which compares the relative differences between any two locations. For the indices to be used in a practical manner, Mercer has created a grid that allows companies to link the resulting index to a Quality of Living Allowance amount by recommending a percentage value in relation to the index.
The World Mayor Project is seeking outstanding mayors for the 2010 Prize
World Mayor 2010:
Is your mayor
among the best?
City Mayors, the international think tank on urban affairs, is seeking nominations for the 2010 World Mayor Prize. The Prize, which has been awarded since 2004, honours mayors with the vision, passion and skills to make their cities incredible places to live in, work in and visit. The World Mayor Project aims to show what outstanding mayors can achieve and raise their profiles nationally and internationally.
The organisers of the World Mayor Project are looking for city leaders who excel in qualities like: leadership and vision, management abilities and integrity, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as the will and ability to foster good relations between communities from different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.
If you think your mayor is among the best in the world, nominate him or her now
Previous winners
and runner-ups:
In 2004: Winner: Edi Rama (Tirana); Runner-up: Andrés Manuel López Obrador (Mexico City}; In third place - Walter Veltroni (Rome)
In 2005: Winner – Dora Bakoyannis (Athens); Runner-up - Hazel McCallion (Mississauga); In third place - Alvaro Arzú (Guatemala City)
In 2006: Winner – John So (Melbourne); Runner up – Job Cohen (Amsterdam); In third place - Stephen Reed (Harrisburg)
In 2008: Winner – Helen Zille (Cape Town); Runner up - Elmar Ledergerber (Zurich); In third place - Leopoldo López (Chacao)
More
Currency movements main
factor in deciding
ranking of most expensive cities in the world
A review of
Mercer Consulting's Cost of Living Survey
7 July 2009: Tokyo has replaced
Moscow as the most expensive city in the world for US expatriates according to
the latest Cost of Living Survey from Mercer. Osaka is in second
position, up nine places since last year, whereas Moscow is now in third place.
Geneva climbs four places to fourth position and Hong Kong moves up one to reach
fifth. Johannesburg has replaced Asunción in Paraguay as the least expensive
city in the ranking. Similar research by
ECA International puts Luanda (Angola) first, with Tokyo second. A report
published by the
Swiss Bank UBS says Oslo was the world's most expensive city, followed by
Zurich and Copenhagen.The fundamental flaw of all cost surveys is that they convert local prices into US dollars, which means that any changes are as much the result of currency fluctuations as of price inflation. In surveys by ECA, UBS, Mercer and EIU the cost of living in cities outside the US dollar zone becomes more expensive if the dollar weakens against local currencies even when prices remain unchanged or indeed fall. A good example are cities in the United Kingdom. During the past two years the pound sterling has both weakened against the US dollar and the euro - from $2.1 to $1.6 and from €1.5 to €1.16. Therefore London and other British cities have become considerably less expensive for anyone travelling to the UK from Europe or the US, while at the same time the cost of many imported items, including gas and oil, increased due to the diminished purchasing power of the pound.
In Mercer’s 2009 survey, New York is used as the base city for the index and scores 100 points, all cities are compared against New York and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. Tokyo scores 143.7 points and is nearly three times as costly as Johannesburg with an index score of 49.6. The survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
The world's most expensive big cities
(The index is based on cost of living expressed in US dollars. Therefore, if the dollar weakens against the local currency of a city, the city becomes more expensive and moves up the index, even if prices expressed in local currency remain the same or even go down.)
|
Rank 2009
|
Rank 2008
|
City
|
Country
|
Score 2009
|
Score 2008
|
|
1
|
2
|
Tokyo | Japan |
143.7
|
127
|
|
2
|
11
|
Osaka | Japan |
119.2
|
110
|
|
3
|
1
|
Moscow | Russia |
115.4
|
142.4
|
|
4
|
8
|
Geneva | Switzerland |
109.2
|
115.8
|
|
5
|
6
|
Hong Kong | Hong Kong |
108.7
|
117.6
|
|
6
|
9
|
Zurich | Switzerland |
105.2
|
112.7
|
|
7
|
7
|
Copenhagen | Denmark |
105.0
|
117.2
|
|
8
|
22
|
New York City | USA |
100.0
|
100.0
|
|
9
|
20
|
Beijing | China |
99.6
|
101.9
|
|
10
|
13
|
Singapore | Singapore |
98.0
|
111.3
|
|
11
|
10
|
Milan | Italy |
96.9
|
98.3
|
|
12
|
24
|
Shanghai | China |
95.2
|
109.4
|
|
13
|
12
|
Paris | France |
95.1
|
118.3
|
|
14
|
4
|
Oslo | Norway |
94.2
|
79.3
|
|
15
|
89
|
Caracas | Venezuela |
93.3
|
125
|
|
16
|
3
|
London | UK |
92.7
|
105
|
|
17
|
14
|
Tel Aviv | Israel |
91.9
|
103.9
|
|
18
|
16
|
Rome | Italy |
91.2
|
101.1
|
|
19
|
21
|
Helsinki | Finland |
90.5
|
89.3
|
|
20
|
52
|
Dubai | UAE |
90.1
|
102.3
|
|
21
|
19
|
Vienna | Austria |
89.3
|
86.3
|
|
22
|
61
|
Shenzhen | China |
89.0
|
87.5
|
|
=23
|
55
|
Los Angeles | USA |
87.6
|
83.9
|
|
=23
|
70
|
Guangzhou | China |
87.6
|
103.9
|
|
25
|
16
|
Dublin | Ireland |
87.4
|
85.7
|
|
26
|
65
|
Abu Dhabi | UAE |
86.7
|
95.1
|
|
27
|
34
|
Douala | Cameroun |
86.1
|
97
|
|
28
|
25
|
Athens | Greece |
85.9
|
97
|
|
29
|
25
|
Amsterdam | Netherland |
85.7
|
90.6
|
|
30
|
45
|
Bratislava | Slovakia |
84.8
|
79.3
|
|
31
|
89
|
White Plains | USA |
84.7
|
95.9
|
|
32
|
30
|
Lagos | Nigeria |
84.6
|
82.2
|
|
33
|
74
|
Tehran | Iran |
84.1
|
89.6
|
|
=34
|
51
|
Abidjan | Ivory Coast |
82.5
|
92.2
|
|
=34
|
41
|
Dakar | Senegal |
82.5
|
81
|
|
=34
|
78
|
San Francisco | USA |
82.5
|
96.7
|
|
37
|
28
|
Madrid | Spain |
82.1
|
91.3
|
|
=38
|
43
|
Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
82.1
|
95.2
|
|
=38
|
31
|
Barcelona | Spain |
82.1
|
86.8
|
|
40
|
57
|
Algiers | Algeria |
81.7
|
81.4
|
|
=41
|
77
|
Honolulu | USA |
81.6
|
92.9
|
|
=41
|
39
|
Brussels | Belgium |
81.6
|
80.8
|
|
=41
|
80
|
Beirut | Lebanon |
81.6
|
90.7
|
|
44
|
44
|
Almaty | Kazakhstan |
81.5
|
82
|
|
45
|
75
|
Miami | USA |
81.4
|
103.1
|
|
46
|
18
|
St Petersburg | Russia |
81.3
|
93.1
|
|
47
|
37
|
Munich | Germany |
81.2
|
92.5
|
|
48
|
40
|
Frankfurt | Germany |
80.9
|
93
|
|
49
|
38
|
Berlin | Germany |
80.8
|
80.3
|
|
50
|
84
|
Chicago | USA |
80.7
|
117.7
|
Similar research by other organisations:
| ECA's most expensive cities | UBS' most expensive cities | EIU's most expensive cities |
Mercer's 2009 Cost of Living Survey
A significant reshuffle of cities can be observed in this year’s ranking, mainly due to considerable currency fluctuations worldwide. The majority of European cities moved down in the ranking with Warsaw experiencing the most dramatic change, plummeting 78 places from 35th to 113th. London and Oslo, both previously in the top 10, have dropped 13 and 10 places respectively. The same trend can be seen in Australia, New Zealand and India. Sydney has dropped 51 places from 15th to 66th and Mumbai has slipped down to 66th from 48th place.
Cities in the US, China, Japan and the Middle East have surged in the ranking. New York is a new entry in the top 10, jumping from 22nd to 8th place, and so is Beijing, now in 9th place, up from 20th in 2008. Japan now has two cities in the top 10 and Dubai has climbed 32 places to reach 20th.
Europe
In third place and with an index score of 115.4, Moscow remains the most expensive city in Europe for expatriates. However, a dramatic depreciation of the rouble against the US dollar has led to a sharp fall in the city’s index score compared to 2008 (142.4). Accommodation costs also started to decrease at the end of last year after a sharp increase in the first part of 2008. The next European cities in the ranking are Geneva and Zurich in fourth and sixth place, up from eight and ninth respectively. Copenhagen remains in seventh, and both Milan and Paris drop one place to 11th and 13th.
European cities have experienced some of this year’s steepest falls in the ranking, with Warsaw plummeting from 35th to 113th and Glasgow (129th place) and Birmingham (125th place) in the UK falling 60 and 59 places respectively. German and Spanish cities all fell between eight and 11 places, whereas cities in Sweden, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Romania and Hungary all fell between 36 and 48 places.
Oslo and London, both previously in the top 10, are now in 14th and 16th place respectively. “The decline of rental prices both in Oslo and London, coupled with the fall in the value of British pound and Norwegian krone against the US dollar, have caused these cities to plummet in the ranking,” said Ms Constantin-Métral.
The Middle East
While the vast majority of European cities have fallen in the ranking, most Middle Eastern cities have experienced a reverse trend. Both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have risen significantly in the ranking, moving from 52nd to 20th and 65th to 26th respectively. This is mainly due to the UAE dirham being fixed to the US dollar. Tel Aviv remains the most expensive city in the Middle East, although it is the only one in the region to move down in the ranking, from 14th to 17th.
Africa
Most African cities moved up in this year’s ranking, although their index scores have decreased. Cairo jumps a substantial 44 places to 57th as the Egyptian pound fared well against the US dollar. The sharp decrease of the South African rand against the US dollar has caused Johannesburg to slip to bottom position.
The US and Canada
Due to the strengthening of the US dollar, all cities in the US have experienced a rise in this year’s ranking. New York remains the highest ranking city in the region and has also joined the global top 10 list this year, jumping from 22nd to eighth place. Los Angeles is up 32 places to 23rd and Washington is up 41 places to 66th. Canadian cities have slipped down the index with its highest ranking city Toronto down 31 places to 85th. Ottawa drops 36 places to 121st and Montreal is now in 103rd place, down from 72nd in 2008.
Latin America
In 15th place and up 74 places from 2008, Caracas in Venezuela is the top ranking city in South America. Sao Paolo and Rio de Janeiro have experienced a reverse move, plummeting from 25th to 72nd and 31st to 73rd respectively, Similarly, Bogota has moved down from 87th to 120th place. Buenos Aires has climbed 26 to reach 112th place. “Although the Argentine peso has lost value against the US dollar, the high inflation rate observed on goods and services have caused Buenos Aires to rise in the rankings,” said Ms Constantin-Métral.
Asia
Tokyo moves up one place in the ranking to become the most expensive city for expatriates both in Asia and globally. The Japanese yen has strengthened considerably against the US dollar which also lifts Osaka into second place from 11th in 2008. Hong Kong follows in fifth place and Singapore has moved up three places to reach 10th. In 140th place, Karachi continues to be the least costly city in this region – up one place from last year.
The Indian rupee made a significant loss against the US dollar last year and all the Indian cities have moved down the ranking as a consequence. New Delhi moves from 55th to 65th place and Mumbai drops from 48th to 66th.
Chinese cities experienced the reverse effect as the Chinese renminbi performed relatively strongly compared to most other currencies. Beijing is in ninth place, having moved up 11 places to join the global top 10. Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou follow in 12th, 22nd and 23rd place respectively.
Australia and New Zealand
Cities in this region have taken a significant plunge in the ranking following a dramatic depreciation of the Australian and New Zealand dollars against the US dollar. Sydney remains the most expensive city for expatriates in this region but has dropped from 15th to 66th. Melbourne follows in 92nd, down from 36th. Auckland has moved down to 138th place from 78th and Wellington follows in 139th down from 93rd.
Methodology
The figures for Mercer’s cost of living and rental accommodation costs comparisons are based on a survey conducted in March 2009. The 2009 comparisons are based on a similar survey conducted in March 2008. The information is used by governments and major companies to protect the purchasing power of their employees when transferred abroad; rental accommodation costs data is used to assess local expatriate housing allowances. The choice of cities surveyed is based on the demand for corresponding data from companies and governmental organizations.
Modified Friday, February 26, 2010
Copyright @ 2007 by Fathers' Manifesto & Christian Party