Mastercard World Report 2008: Vancouver "Most Liveable City"

Well another world ranking has placed Vancouver the most liveable city in the world. I can’t say that i’m not surprised by this ranking as we have consistently ranked in the top five in other studies such as Mercer and Economic Intelligence. Overall we ranked #37 out of 70 cities, not too shabby considering we aren’t an economic powerhouse (a heavily weighted component of the study).This may come as a surprise to all the people who feel Vancouver isn’t that great. You know who you are, there is plenty of them in the local blogosphere.

I’ve been fortunate to live for in other cities such as Montreal, New York and Chicago and let me tell you, you think things aren’t great here, try living there and then compare. Not saying those cities aren’t great, they are. They just lack something Vancouver has. Also, remember those other cities have been around for hundreds of years. On the other hand, we are a relatively young city with a lofty vision. To be number #1. Some may call it boasting, I call it a vision statement.

Are we #1, in terms of liveability and quality of life? Hell yes. Are we # 1 overall? Um that would be a resounding NO! We got a lot going for us, but we have a way to go. We need to become a centre of commerce, something the provincial and city of government of the 90’s didn’t understand. They took for granted the money flowing in from Hong Kong and rested on their laurels, while head offices chose to relocate and locate in frigid Calgary. The feds also need to realize our importance and stop pandering to Toronto. This century will belong to Asia and look for our importance to grow as their economy grows.

At least now we have a provincial government trying to move commerce in the right direction in BC. Even the COV has recognized the need for more commerce downtown (see metro core jobs study). We have great local companies that are growing worldwide, companies such as Lululemon, 1-800 Got Junk, Blenz, the list goes on. These companies are have head offices already and reiterates the need for more office space downtown and uptown.

The top ten in terms of liveability are as follows:

1. Vancouver
2. Dusseldorf
3. San Francisco
4. Frankfurt
5. Vienna
6. Munich
7. Zurich
8. Tokyo
9. Copenhagen
10. Paris