World’s most livable city in 2015 is …

(中央社倫敦18日綜合外電報導)根據今天公布的備受敬重英國研究報告,墨爾本蟬連全球最適宜居住城市之冠,這也是墨爾本5連霸,台北則名列第60。衝突和恐怖主義已導致全球都市生活條件更普遍下滑。

根據經濟學人資訊社(EIU)針對140個城市進行的調查研究,澳洲城市墨爾本連續5年雄踞年度最適宜居住城市排行榜之冠,凌駕奧地利首都維也納和加拿大溫哥華市,溫哥華曾於2011年奪冠。

這項調查依各城市的穩定性、醫療保健、文化和環境、教育以及基礎設施等五個項目評分。

調查發現,人口密度相對較低的富裕國家中型城市獲得高分,今年前十名宜居城市中,加拿大和澳洲包辦了其中7個。

調查認定,諸如倫敦、紐約、巴黎和東京等全球核心城市,由於規模太大,導致基礎設施面臨過度緊繃壓力及犯罪率攀高。東京今年排名第15,巴黎第29,倫敦第53,紐約第55。

在兩岸三地方面,去年位居第31的香港,因去年爆發大規模示威抗議和警民衝突,今年排名下滑15名至第46;台北則排名第60,北京第69。

儘管今年前5名城市沒有變動,依序為墨爾本、維也納、溫哥華、多倫多、澳洲城市阿得雷德(Adelaide,並列第5)、加拿大亞伯達省城市卡加立(Calgary,並列第5)。但整體逾1/3城市出現得分變化,主要是由於水準下滑,「反映出全球各地許多城市的穩定性惡化」。

報告表示,法國巴黎和突尼西亞境內發生備受矚目恐怖攻擊事件,以及伊斯蘭國(IS)當前在中東地區橫行霸道,在眾多國家境內製造進一步攀升的恐怖主義威脅。

排名倒數五個城市分別為敘利亞首都大馬士革(Damascus, 140)、孟加拉首都達卡(Dhaka, 139)、巴布亞紐幾內亞首都摩斯比港(Port Moresby, 138)、奈及利亞大城拉哥斯(Lagos,137)以及利比亞首都的黎波里(Tripoli, 136)。1040818

Hong Kong (CNN)It’s usually all about the top cities to live in when the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) publishes its annual livability ranking — but this year the picture is rather more gloomy.

And that’s because of a surge in global instability over the past 12 months, from terrorist shootings in France and Tunisia, to ongoing conflicts across the Middle East, Ukraine and Libya.

In any event, it’s as you were for the “haves” at the top of list, with Melbourne taking the top spot for a fifth year running, with Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Adelaide/Calgary (tied at 5) completing the top five most livable cities in 2015.

According to the EIU, these cities have “relatively few challenges to living standards,” and enjoy a good infrastructure, healthcare system and a low murder rate.

Unsurprisingly, Damascus remains the least livable city, with Syria embroiled in a bloody civil war.

But elsewhere, there’s been a marked deterioration in previously stable regions, such as Europe and North America, caused by events such as The Charlie Hebdo attacks in the heart of Paris and race-fueled civil unrest in a number of U.S. cities.

“The EIU ranking, which provides scores for lifestyle challenges in 140 cities worldwide, shows that since 2010 average liveability across the world has fallen by 1%, led by a 2.2% fall in the score for stability and safety. While this may seem marginal, it highlights that 57 of the cities surveyed have seen declines in liveability over the last five years,” this year’s report stated.

Bucking the trend

By contrast, some regions have bucked the trend — seven Chinese cities improved their ranking over the last 12 months “largely because of a lower threat from civil unrest,” the report said. “Chinese cities saw liveability fall in the wake of riots and unrest in 2012, most notably due to widespread anti-Japanese sentiment.”

China’s top-ranked city, Beijing, moved up five places to 69 in the global ranking.

But Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests last year resulted in a 3.2% decline in livability. Though the protests were largely peaceful, some parts of the city were brought to a standstill for several months.

However “Asia’s World City” still remained three places above city rival Singapore — 46th and 49th place respectively.

“Hong Kong’s liveability has been hit by the disruptive protests that took place last year. The city retains bragging rights over its regional competitor Singapore, but by a tiny margin. In fact both cities can still lay claim to being in the top tier of liveability where few, if any, aspects of life are restricted. This has not been the case in other parts of the world, with instability and unrest features undermining the scores of a number of cities globally,” said Jon Copestake, editor of the EIU survey.

Top five most livable:
1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, British Columbia

4. Toronto

5. Adelaide, Australia

5. Calgary, Alberta

Least five livable:
136. Tripoli, Libya

137. Lagos, Nigeria

138. Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

139. Dhaka, Bangladesh

140. Damascus, Syria