Dhaka ‘second least liveable city’

“Oftentimes, global business centers don’t rank as high as you might expect”.

Detroit, Michigan, was ranked No. 6 on the EIU’s list of cities with the biggest livability score decline over the past five years.

“Most Livable Cities” tend to be mid-sized metros in wealthier countries with low population densities, the Intelligence Unit explains, because such cities are usually able to support recreational activities without incurring much crime or many infrastructure issues.

War-torn Damascus, Syria, was in last place.

Australian city of Melbourne has taken the top spot for the fifth consecutive year, with a score of 97.5 points.

A minuscule margin separated the top six cities.

Since 2010, the report shows, that the liveability across the world has fallen 1 percent due to a decline in stability and safety.

The “livability survey” only rated eight mainland cities, mostly coastal ones where expatriates concentrate, excluding most inland medium-sized to small cities, which most Chinese people deemed more livable.

Monocle Magazine’s list of most livable cities was released in June, with Tokyo, Japan coming in at the top of the list with Vienna in a close second. “Of these changes the majority have been negative, 38 in the past 12 months, reflecting a deterioration in stability in many cities around the world”, a summary of the report stated.

Still, he concedes that the city has a ways to go before it can be considered a desirable place to live.

Drops in rankings were caused by civil unrest, acts of terror and violence. “Last year, events in Ukraine and the Middle East formed a sobering backdrop to global livability, but in the past 12 months this has been compounded by protests in the U.S., sanctions in Russian Federation and shootings in France and Tunisia”, said Jon Copestake, editor of the survey.

“Meanwhile, protests over matters like police brutality, democracy and austerity have also raised the threat of civil unrest in many countries, notably the US where the deaths of a number of black people in police custody have led to widespread protests and accusations of racism”. Three cities in particular, Tripoli, Kiev and Damascus, have seen significant declines of 21.9, 25.8 and 27 percentage points respectively, illustrating that conflict is, unsurprisingly, the key factor in undermining wider liveability.

“Conflict is responsible for numerous lowest scores”, says the study.