TEXT A
Frank Rankings
Ranking cities for “livability” grows more complicated each year. Just think of the urban scene in 2011: violent protests in Athens and elsewhere over economic issues, continuing unrest in Arab capitals, terrorist attacks on government buildings in 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 in 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 in 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 states that discovering which cities have the most favourable living conditions has become difficult because of
