Vancouver most livable city in Canada

Vancouver is Canada's most livable city and Calgary, despite being the centre of the oil patch, is ranked as the world's top eco-city, according to consulting firm Mercer.

Vancouver is tied for fourth with Aukland, New Zealand, on Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living Survey. Vienna, Austria, tops the list, followed by Zurich and Geneva in Switzerland.

Other Canadian cities on the list include Ottawa at number 14, Toronto at number 16, Montreal at number 21 and Calgary at number 28.

The index covers 221 cities, with Baghdad coming in last.

Mercer evaluates living conditions in 420 cities according to 39 factors in 10 categories:

• political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc.)

• economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc.)

• socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc.)

• health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc.)

• schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc.)

• public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc.)

• recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc.)

• consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc.)

• housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc.)

• natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

The ranking helps governments and multi-national companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments.

“As the world economy becomes more globalised, cities beyond the traditional financial centres are emerging as attractive places in which to expand or establish a business. Cities in many emerging markets, such as in the Middle East or Asia, have seen a significant influx of foreign companies and their expatriate employees in recent years," said Slagin Parakatil, a senior researcher at Mercer.

“To ensure their expatriates are compensated appropriately and an adequate hardship allowance is included in their benefits package, companies seek a clear picture of the quality of living in these cities. We have reviewed our index to reflect these developments and it now better represents the cities that most interest our clients.”

European cities dominate the top 25 cities in the index. In the United Kingdom, London ranks at 39, while Birmingham is at 55 and Glasgow at 57. In the United States, the highest ranking entry is Honolulu at 31, followed by San Francisco at 32. Singapore, at 28, is the top-scoring Asian city followed by Tokyo at 40.

“Quality of living standards remained relatively stable on a global level throughout 2009 and the first half of 2010, but in certain regions and countries the economic recession had a noticeable impact on the business climate,” said Parakatil.

“Despite the economic downturn and companies’ efforts to contain costs, quality of living and hardship premiums remain important means of compensating expatriates for differences in living conditions. However, companies are more inclined to review the measurement of such allowances to ensure they are cost-effective."

This year’s ranking also identifies the cities with the best eco-ranking based on water availability and drinkability, waste removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion.

Calgary is at the top of this index, followed by Honolulu while Ottawa and Helsinki, Finland, are tied for third. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, comes in last.

“A high-ranking eco-city optimizes its use of renewable energy sources and generates the lowest possible quantity of pollution. A city’s eco-status or attitude toward sustainability can have significant impact on the quality of living of its inhabitants. As a consequence these are also pertinent issues for companies that send employees and their families on long-term assignments abroad, especially considering the vast majority of expatriates are relocated to urban areas," said Parakatil.

Top 50 cities: Quality of living ranking

Top 50 cities: Eco-City ranking