Some of the world's key financial centres in major developed countries are becoming a lot less "liveable" because of the rising threat of terrorism.
According to a report from the Economist Intelligence Unit published on Thursday, more cities are now beset with growing terrorist threats, civil unrest, and increasing geopolitical tensions.
Even cities in the US fail to place in the rankings of top liveable cities because, the report said, of social unrest borne out of "the deaths of black people in police custody."
In its annual rankings of city liveability, which scores cities based on factors such as stability, infrastructure, and culture, the EIU said many of the scores had declined.
Here is the EIU (emphasis ours):
"Over the past six months 16 cities of the 140 surveyed have experienced changes in scores. This rises to 35 cities, or 25% of the total number surveyed, when looking at changes over the past year.
"Of these changes, the majority have been negative (29 in the past 12 months), reflecting deteriorating stability as cities around the world face heightened threats of terrorism or unrest."
The more peaceful countries scored better in the survey. Australia and Canada were seen as having the most top-ranked cities, with Melbourne coming first and Vancouver, Toronto, and Calgary all making the top 10. Vienna in Austria is the highest-placed European city, coming in second.
While there is not much to separate the best performers, many cities in the middle range or toward the bottom have seen their standing fall, with more frequent acts of terrorism and war to blame.
Here is the EIU again:
"Violent acts of terrorism have been reported in many countries, including Turkey, Australia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, France, Belgium and the US. This has been a year undoubtedly marked by terrorism."
"Terrorism has also been compounded by unrest and, in more extreme cases, civil war in some countries. Libya, Syria, Iraq and Ukraine remain the subject of high-profile armed conflicts, while a number of other countries, such as Nigeria, continue to battle insurgent groups."
"Meanwhile even relatively stable countries such as the US have seen mounting civil unrest linked to the Black Lives Matter movement, which has scrutinised the large number of deaths of black people while in police custody."
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