TEXT A
Frank Rankings
Ranking cities for “livability” grows more complicated each year. Just think of the urban scene ∈2011: violent protests ∈Athens and elsewhere over economic issues, continuing unrest ∈Arab capitals, terrorist attacks on government buildings ∈Oslo and a summer camp nearby. All that strife prompted Mercer, a human resources consultancy, to add a separate personal safety section to its annual ranking of more than 200 cities, which helps companies determine cost of living adjustments for employees transferred overseas. Baghdad ranked dead last overall; Luxembourg was first for safety, due to a low crime rate and stable political situation.
Mercer weighs many factors ∈ its overall rankings: education, public health, censorship, mass transit, culture. Economists and other rankers take a different tack. The Cato Institute’s urban planning expert Randal O’Toole favors looking at which cities draw the most newcomers. To him, that’s a sign of affordable,
livable cities.
National Geographic, September 2012.
Mercer weighs many factors ∈ its overall rankings: education, public health, censorship, mass transit, culture. Economists and other rankers take a different tack. The Cato Institute’s urban planning expert Randal O’Toole favors looking at which cities draw the most newcomers. To him, that’s a sign of affordable,
livable cities.
National Geographic, September 2012.
TEXT A points out that when economists rate cities they give the highest ranking to those which have
