Melbourne made it three years in a row as the world’s most livable city, according to the 2013 Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Global Livability Survey.
The top cities and indeed much of the rankings remained similar to last year, with Australian cities landing four of the top 10 spots.
Elsewhere in the EIU rankings, 28 cities saw changes in their rankings with negative livability changes driven by “civil unrest, with the Arab Spring, European austerity and Chinese discontent all contributing,” according to the EIU report.
The top spots are mostly “mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density,” said the EIU.
At the bottom of the list, due to ongoing civil conflict in Syria is Damascus — dropping 10 rankings.
A total of 140 cities were surveyed under five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Scores in each category and sub-category are compiled and weighted to give a total out of 100. 100 is considered ideal and 1 intolerable.
[Source: eduaid Newsdesk]
