World's Safest Cities

[KimberlySayWhat]

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050314/w031458.html

Switzerland remains world model for safe cities with a high quality of life

03:33 PM EST Mar 14

LONDON (AP) - Luxembourg is the world's safest city, but Swiss cities lead the way for combining safety with high quality of life, according to a survey released Monday.

All five Canadian cities in the survey scored well, with Vancouver coming in third for overall quality of life. Geneva and Zurich were tied atop that list, with Vancouver and Vienna, Austria, tied for third. The German cities of Frankfurt, Munich and Duesseldorf tied for fifth.

Toronto was ranked 14th for quality of life, Ottawa was ranked 20th, Montreal was 22nd and Calgary was 25th.

The Swiss cities of Bern, Geneva and Zurich ranked just behind Luxembourg for safety, along with the Finnish capital, Helsinki, said the survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

The safety survey evaluated 215 locations for crime levels and internal stability.

All the Canadian cities covered by the survey appear in the top 20 rankings for personal safety and security. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver rank jointly in position 18 with scores of 112.

In the United States, the five safest cities tied in 45th place: Honolulu; Houston; Lexington, Kentucky; San Francisco; and Winston Salem, N.C. New York was 58th, while Atlanta had the lowest U.S. ranking at 90.

In Britain, the top-ranked city as far as safety is concerned is Glasgow, Scotland (39), followed by Birmingham (51) and London (69).

"The top-ranking cities for personal safety and security are in politically stable countries with good international relations and sustainable economic growth," said Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer. "Most of the low-scoring cities are in countries with civil unrest, little law enforcement and high levels of crime."

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was ranked the world's least safe city, followed by Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Bangui, Central African Republic; the Nigerian cities of Port Harcourt and Lagos; and Bogota, Colombia.

In its overall quality-of-life survey, Mercer evaluated 39 criteria such as crime, health, education and transport.

Other cities at the top in that category are Auckland, New Zealand; Bern; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Sydney, Australia.

Honolulu and San Francisco ranked highest in the United States at joint 25th, while New York and London tied at 39th.

In Asia, the top three cities were Singapore and Tokyo, both 34th, and Yokohama, Japan (36).

In South America, the top quality-of-life cities are Montevideo, Uruguay (76) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (78).

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On the Net: www.mercerhr.com/qualityofliving

[kzseattle]

http://www.cbc.ca/cp/world/050314/w031458.html

Switzerland remains world model for safe cities with a high quality of life

03:33 PM EST Mar 14

LONDON (AP) - Luxembourg is the world's safest city, but Swiss cities lead the way for combining safety with high quality of life, according to a survey released Monday.

All five Canadian cities in the survey scored well, with Vancouver coming in third for overall quality of life. Geneva and Zurich were tied atop that list, with Vancouver and Vienna, Austria, tied for third. The German cities of Frankfurt, Munich and Duesseldorf tied for fifth.

Toronto was ranked 14th for quality of life, Ottawa was ranked 20th, Montreal was 22nd and Calgary was 25th.

The Swiss cities of Bern, Geneva and Zurich ranked just behind Luxembourg for safety, along with the Finnish capital, Helsinki, said the survey conducted by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

The safety survey evaluated 215 locations for crime levels and internal stability.

All the Canadian cities covered by the survey appear in the top 20 rankings for personal safety and security. Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver rank jointly in position 18 with scores of 112.

In the United States, the five safest cities tied in 45th place: Honolulu; Houston; Lexington, Kentucky; San Francisco; and Winston Salem, N.C. New York was 58th, while Atlanta had the lowest U.S. ranking at 90.

In Britain, the top-ranked city as far as safety is concerned is Glasgow, Scotland (39), followed by Birmingham (51) and London (69).

"The top-ranking cities for personal safety and security are in politically stable countries with good international relations and sustainable economic growth," said Slagin Parakatil, senior researcher at Mercer. "Most of the low-scoring cities are in countries with civil unrest, little law enforcement and high levels of crime."

The Iraqi capital, Baghdad, was ranked the world's least safe city, followed by Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Bangui, Central African Republic; the Nigerian cities of Port Harcourt and Lagos; and Bogota, Colombia.

In its overall quality-of-life survey, Mercer evaluated 39 criteria such as crime, health, education and transport.

Other cities at the top in that category are Auckland, New Zealand; Bern; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Sydney, Australia.

Honolulu and San Francisco ranked highest in the United States at joint 25th, while New York and London tied at 39th.

In Asia, the top three cities were Singapore and Tokyo, both 34th, and Yokohama, Japan (36).

In South America, the top quality-of-life cities are Montevideo, Uruguay (76) and Buenos Aires, Argentina (78).

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On the Net: www.mercerhr.com/qualityofliving

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hey, this is not fair! What happened to Seattle? Whenever we went to Vancouver from Seattle, we always felt Seattle had an edge. So if Vancouver is third, Seattle should be second! Seattle offers everything that Vancouver does and then some.

Glad to know they think Houston is one of the safest cities in the US!

[MidtownCoog]

Seattle offers everything that Vancouver does and then some.

Much better smoke shops for BC bud in Vancouver.

[kzseattle]

Hey, this is not fair! What happened to Seattle? Whenever we went to Vancouver from Seattle, we always felt Seattle had an edge. So if Vancouver is third, Seattle should be second! Seattle offers everything that Vancouver does and then some.

Glad to know they think Houston is one of the safest cities in the US! 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

So Houston has the lowest quality of life in the US according to this study? Yes, it sucks when its come to aesthetic factor (thanks to no zoning) but in other factors such as medical and educational services, housing cost, safety and transportation, it couldn

[kjb434]

I never give much creedence to these studies. Quite often the basis for judging pre-determines the outcome. Also, all that matters is that we like to live here. Who cares if some study places us lower. I still place us at the top.

[kzseattle]

I never give much creedence to these studies.  Quite often the basis for judging pre-determines the outcome.  Also, all that matters is that we like to live here.  Who cares if some study places us lower.  I still place us at the top.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

For a moment, I was disappointed. Then I started thinking who cares! They probably use a computer model, put in some numbers and come up with a ranking. I am pretty sure that industrial pollution, climate and geography placed us lower.

I once read an interview with an urban planner who was asked how could Houston improve it quality of life. He asked how was the quality of life defined? If it is about affordable housing, educational options, personal safety, medical services and such, then Houston is doing fine or at least better than many other cities. If it is about hiking or skiing in mountains or walking on a white sandy beach of acquamarine ocean, then there is nothing much Houston can do. The bottom line is that the definition of quality of life is really subjective.

[The Great Hizzy!]

The survey doesn't say that Houston has the lowest quality of life in the U.S. Among the U.S. cities that qualified (read achieved enough stature to merit inclusion in the ranking) as a global city, it finished lowest among its US brethren.

You'll notice that Baghdad, for example, finished dead last with a score of like 3 or something (an exaggeration, but you get my point).

Among US cities ranked, Houston was the lowest ranked at #68 (score 94). All in all, not that far behind those that were ranked 100 to 102.

[LTAWACS]

Ah when will the little people learn?