Global Top 25 Cities

[jaxnyc79]

Monocle Magazine, a global news, culture, and fashion magazine recently named its top 25 cities - "a city that's well run, delivers on life's essentials and is fun too..."  No US city made the cut.  I tend to agree that few american cities are really getting it right.  Now, yes, perhaps that's a symptom of being in America, subject to state and federal regulations and various funding conditions outside of the control of most municipalities, but surely there are meaningful lessons to be gleaned from these international frontiers.  If I recall correctly, the Chamber visited Toronto last year.  I wish they'd continue exploring cities beyond our borders as templates for success.

25) Oslo
24) Brisbane
23) Auckland
22) Fukuoka
21) Singapore
20) Paris
19) Barcelona
18) Dusseldorf
17) Kyoto
16) Amsterdam
15) Vancouver
14) Hong Kong
13) Sydney
12) Lisbon
11) Stockholm
10) Helsinki
09) Melbourne
08) Hamburg
07) Madrid
06) Berlin
05) Copenhagen
04) Zurich
03) Vienna
02) Tokyo
01) Munich

[Captain Zissou]

4 German cities?  Oslo is a city of 600k.  I'm interested in learning why it made the list over New York, San Fran, Seattle, Denver, Austin.... or a number of other American cities.

[jaxnyc79]

4 German cities?  Oslo is a city of 600k.  I'm interested in learning why it made the list over New York, San Fran, Seattle, Denver, Austin.... or a number of other American cities.

Can't say why the magazine preferred a place like Oslo over NYC, but my sense is that while NY has a range of outstanding unmatched features, it fails on a number of points that the magazine appears to value and extol in other places: cleanliness of the rivers and creeks, tidy streets, cleanup and reuse of previously contaminated industrial zones, creative solutions to homelessness, gleaming and alluring public transit centers...etc

Here are a few descriptions of what's happening in Oslo quoted from the article:

"...innovative architecture and extended use of green space"
"Large swathes of land along the fjord, previously covered in shipping containers, have been transformed into new neighborhoods, complete with restaurants, offices, and kindergartens."
"You'll find few gated communities here and walking the streets at night feels safe."
"Bars stay open until 03.30, and if the drink prices put you off you are welcome to enjoy your own bottle of wine in a park."
"...city council's plans for a car-free city centre are at last coming to fruition."
"...a cycle culture is growing thanks to the investment in new bike lanes..."

I completely agree on the German cities.  I'm in Germany twice a year and absolutely love my experience anywhere I go.  Several very close friends are in Munich (I'll be there again next summer for a wedding), and I found Hamburg to be an indelible example of livability.  Some of its lakefront neighborhoods were a bit reminiscent of Avondale/Ortega, but again, the commercial and retail plazas are pedestrian-scale, dense, clustered, mid-rise (very few skyscrapers and there needn't be to get vibrancy and international renown), with ease of access to breathtaking and open waterfront spaces.

[JaGoaT]

HOW TF DID JAX NOT MAKE THE LIST 

[Adam White]

I don't know how they arrived at this list. But I'd put NYC or San Francisco ahead of Paris. Or at least near.

[jax_hwy_engineer]

Somehow Seoul is off the list, too? These lists always look a little goofy and non-scientific. Plus, it's a UK magazine, OF COURSE they're not gonna say anything nice about the USA.

[Tacachale]

Any list of "best cities" that excludes New York and Seoul is a joke. But hey, it's got us talking about it I guess.

[jaxnyc79]

Any list of "best cities" that excludes New York and Seoul is a joke. But hey, it's got us talking about it I guess.

I live in NYC and visit tons of other global cities and can definitely see how NYC didn't make the cut.  NYC is amazing - for the haves - for the upper echelons of income earners.  For middle class earners, well outside of Manhattan and the reach of gentrification, it's OK, without all the sparkle and charm.  Also, the conspicuous homelessness and untreated mental illness leave an impression that I really haven't found among the cities on the list that I've visited.  As for our monuments to public transit, aside for the overpriced Oculus, our subway stations are dumpy and smelly, and we are still the home of a grimy and low-ceilinged and uninspiring Penn Station and Port Authority.  Yes, Grand Central is spectacular, but based on volume, Penn Station is much more of a front door to the city - or shall I say, dirty doormat.

[Tacachale]

Any list of "best cities" that excludes New York and Seoul is a joke. But hey, it's got us talking about it I guess.

I live in NYC and visit tons of other global cities and can definitely see how NYC didn't make the cut.  NYC is amazing - for the haves - for the upper echelons of income earners.  For middle class earners, well outside of Manhattan and the reach of gentrification, it's OK, without all the sparkle and charm.  Also, the conspicuous homelessness and untreated mental illness leave an impression that I really haven't found among the cities on the list that I've visited.  As for our monuments to public transit, aside for the overpriced Oculus, our subway stations are dumpy and smelly, and we are still the home of a grimy and low-ceilinged and uninspiring Penn Station and Port Authority.  Yes, Grand Central is spectacular, but based on volume, Penn Station is much more of a front door to the city - or shall I say, dirty doormat.

It's also the cultural capital of the world, which some might say would put it up with the lofty heights of Auckland, New Zealand.

[jaxnyc79]

Any list of "best cities" that excludes New York and Seoul is a joke. But hey, it's got us talking about it I guess.

I live in NYC and visit tons of other global cities and can definitely see how NYC didn't make the cut.  NYC is amazing - for the haves - for the upper echelons of income earners.  For middle class earners, well outside of Manhattan and the reach of gentrification, it's OK, without all the sparkle and charm.  Also, the conspicuous homelessness and untreated mental illness leave an impression that I really haven't found among the cities on the list that I've visited.  As for our monuments to public transit, aside for the overpriced Oculus, our subway stations are dumpy and smelly, and we are still the home of a grimy and low-ceilinged and uninspiring Penn Station and Port Authority.  Yes, Grand Central is spectacular, but based on volume, Penn Station is much more of a front door to the city - or shall I say, dirty doormat.

It's also the cultural capital of the world, which some might say would put it up with the lofty heights of Auckland, New Zealand.

As mentioned in my original post, the range of factors used to determine the list sought to identify and rank "a city that's well run, delivers on life's essentials and is fun too..."

Yes, NYC is culturally amazing and has a range of artistic and cultural accoutrements, as one would expect of a place with such an intense concentration of wealth, investment expertise, and capital markets infrastructure.  That doesn't mean it's a city that is more responsive to the needs of all its residents than a place like Auckland, without vast disparities in quality of life, namely resulting from vast income disparities.  New York will always have the best of everything given its status as the capital markets capital of the world, but if many of its splendors are largely reserved for the ultra-rich, I can see how a much smaller city that keeps its splendors in mint condition and fully accessible to the general public, could be very competitive.

[jaxnyc79]

Yes, NYC is legend, but if the factors gear more towards big city amenities with immense livability for all ages and income types, I can definitely see how NYC falls off the list.  I'm saying this as someone who loves the city and has been here 13 years.

[Adam White]

Plus, it's a UK magazine, OF COURSE they're not gonna say anything nice about the USA.

That has to be the stupidest thing I've read on this forum that wasn't posted by I-10.


(Well, maybe not the stupidest, but pretty stupid).

[MusicMan]

Looks like Vancouver is only North American city on the list. It's def my favorite!

[Kiva]

HOW TF DID JAX NOT MAKE THE LIST 

[Adam White]

Plus, it's a UK magazine, OF COURSE they're not gonna say anything nice about the USA.

That has to be the stupidest thing I've read on this forum that wasn't posted by I-10.


(Well, maybe not the stupidest, but pretty stupid).

Please. Probably doesn't even make the top 2935.

Wait...you wouldn't read your own posts. Probably doesn't even make the top 10.

Thanks Matt. I was getting a bit worried that I was starting to actually like you.