Chidera Abaratu, PBA Journalism MenteeBy Chidera Abaratu, Journalism Mentee
Resonance Consultancy has just come up with a study on what would be the 10 most livable cities, and they made some interesting findings. The ranking is based on the cities’ prosperity, safety, landmarks, outdoor activities, health care and other factors.
Among the cities ranked, Ukraine’s Kyiv sits atop the list as the honorary best city of 2023, while London enjoys the number one slot as Dubai is celebrated in the 5th position.
KYIV: HONORARY BEST CITY OF 2023
A courageous people are being led by a resolute city, the ancient capital of Ukraine, against a deadly attacker. Like the rest of Ukraine, it is a region characterised by unending bravery in the face of daily catastrophe.
The city of Kyiv has multiple aspects. One of the most significant rivers in Europe, the Dnipro, separates the capital of Ukraine into two distinct areas: the right bank, which is home to the city’s historical district, government offices, cafés, and restaurants, and the left bank, primarily residential.
The left bank is home to many of 2023 Honorary World’s Best City Kyiv’s families because of its more affordable real estate, in part because of an unabated supply of high apartment complexes from the Soviet era. But brand-new, even more, prominent residential skyscrapers have appeared in the past ten years. No global crisis, controversial election, or imminent Russian invasion threat has stopped new investments; construction cranes are everywhere. Large retail malls offer plenty of alternatives for amusement.
The affordable and effective metro system in Kyiv makes it simple for residents of the left bank to cross the river and reach the city centre.
1. LONDON:
In a year England lost its longest-reigning monarch and despite having three prime ministers in just three months, London is able to emerge the first on this list. Newly affluent inhabitants now have the means to cross off a major item on their multimillionaire dream list: property in the world’s most significant metropolis and with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, Royal Ascot, the RHS Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon, Boris’s departure, and, in the worst possible way, the Queen’s passing and weeks of sorrow, this summer has been the busiest start to summer in London in more than a decade.
London, more than any other city, with the possible exception of Kyiv, was undoubtedly the focus of attention during all the turmoil, serving as a reminder to everyone that London is unique and that it has been a very long time since they visited. The city’s marketing machine was gaining steam. Regarding Instagram hashtags, Facebook (or is it Meta?) check-ins, and TripAdvisor ratings, the city continues to lead our Promotions category. London is a city of opportunities for many creatives because its beauty attracts creativity.
2. PARIS, FRANCE
This is popularly known as ‘The City Of Love’ to most tourists.
Despite all the discussion of learning from the pandemic, one city is putting effort into applying the complex lessons it taught to molecular urban change.
While Mayor Anne Hidalgo and her aggressive empowerment of self-propelled mobility are the faces of Paris’s pandemic evolution—from a citywide speed limit of 30 km/h enacted last year to the obsessive addition of bike paths, with the promise of 745 miles by 2026 across most arrondissements—it is the populace’s embrace of this audacity that is permanently altering the city’s fabric.
READ: Top 10 African Cities With Lowest Cost Of Living
Paris has been plagued by unemployment and economic hardship since 2020 (despite a marked improvement from 2021, Paris ranks #183 globally in our employment subcategory this year). Still, the goal of a walkable city has coincided with the city’s efforts to address these issues, but It just gets better as Paris prepares for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. A town we adore for its top-notch art, shopping, and international cuisine has gained improved infrastructure, a dedication to pedestrianism, and a few new hotels just in the last year. The Champs-Élysées is the next project on the municipal administration’s list; it will be converted into a massive garden for the Games, with automobile access being cut in half and millions of euros going into amenities geared towards pedestrians.
In addition to adding more outdoor spaces, the city is seeing a flood of new and renovated hotels. A tranquil 3,200 square foot terrace named Sequoia perches atop the one-year-old Kimpton St Honoré and offers panoramic views of the city’s famous skyline. The Hôtel Rochechouart in the 9th arrondissement, which debuted in late 2020, also offers a little-known 1,000-square-foot perch from which to see Sacré-Coeur and the Eiffel Tower in air fragrant by wild lavender and berry bushes planted all around so see you soon my friends.
3. NEW YORK:
Few places on earth were more primed for a comeback than NYC after a terrible two years. The Bronx Children’s Museum, Museum of Broadway, expanded Louis Armstrong House Museum, and Aman Jazz Club with Lincoln Centre acoustics are all new additions to The City this year, frequently ranked for their cultural offerings. Several incredibly authentic food halls, like the Singaporean/Malaysian Urban Hawker Centre and the Tin Building by Jean-Georges in the renovated South Street Seaport, have been added to the list of Sights and Landmarks. And as Broadway returns with a full schedule, we anticipate that tourists will follow, and when it’s your turn to revisit America’s best city, do yourself a favour and schedule some time to see the phoenix rising from the sky. There are iconic structures like the Empire State Building and the Top of the Rock, but there are also brand-new breathtaking vantage points like SUMMIT One Vanderbilt and its Ascent all-glass exterior lifts. As you ascend, exhale and glance downward.
4. TOKYO:
After almost three years of lockdowns and sporadic school closures, young children playing and walking to school unattended—a pre-pandemic mind-bender for visitors to the world’s largest city—is a typical sight once again.
Those postponed Olympics continued despite a ban on tourism and restrictions on local spectators during the live events. Tens of dollars were spent on infrastructure to welcome the world, but it sat largely vacant. The 2,000 hotels, inns, and guest houses opened throughout the city will be in financial trouble for years, to say nothing of the retail centres and other tourist infrastructure. The country has the best restaurants in the world and is known for its life-changing ramen, making it a place worth organising a whole trip. And don’t panic if eating out consumes most of your travel cash. Several inexpensive hotels in Tokyo may be reserved, and with international travel, the city has regained its former glory.
Due to its top-notch products and services, including Ginza’s upscale department shops that have recently been improved by the aesthetically pleasing and sharply constructed Ginza Six retail centre, it was awarded the #1 rank in retail.
5. DUBAI:
Dubai is still recovering from Expo 2020, a multibillion-dollar, six-month world’s fair that featured nearly 200 countries with futuristic pavilions and what seemed like nonstop cultural festivals. However, it took place in 2021–2022. With a target of 25 million tourists by 2025, Dubai aspires to become the most popular tourist destination in the world and encourage visitors to return. Beginning in March 2023, a new United direct route will connect Newark with Dubai; this could be very useful to the economy of Dubai. The next issue for Dubai will be to avoid sabotaging its pandemic reopening by acting too quickly. The city has spent its leisure recalibrating and expanding at a rate unheard of even for this Energizer Bunny of a metropolis, hoping to lure back the tourists (16.7 million in 2019) who have grown essential to its economy.
The world’s busiest mall is already here, helping Dubai reach position 28 in our shopping category. However, it would be incorrect to concentrate on the “mall” portion of the term because, like the city, the Dubai Mall is more of an effort to collect every human experience and repackage it for consumption. The Burj Khalifa is the highest building in the world and one of the world’s most prominent aquarium tanks. The world’s first “nature-inspired” shopping mall, Cityland Mall, which should be fully open when you read this, continues the city’s makeover.
The Burj Khalifa’s reign as the tallest structure in the world may also be coming to an end; once Santiago Calatrava’s Tower at Dubai Creek is finished, it will pass its height.
About the future, the city’s sensory overload Museum of the Future recently opened and has already become a landmark. According to National Geographic, one of the most beautiful museums in the world is this enormous, distinctive steel and glass-covered torus.
6. BARCELONA:
Barcelona is a nearly perfect example of a European city, with year-round near-perfect weather, endless miles of beaches, famous parks, famous Gaud-designed buildings, and “colourful neighbourhoods that march to their beat—artistic, sophisticated, bohemian,” according to Resonance. Now, “bike-friendly” can be added to the list. More non-vehicular access to the city is what visitors will discover. Twenty more miles of bike lanes will be finished by 2023, as promised by Mayor Colau, who has already created 125 miles of lanes. Playgrounds and public seating have replaced parking and roadways as part of the mayor’s “superblock” programme.
Just look at Passeig de Sant Joan, which Time Out recently named one of the top streets in the world. One of Spain’s earliest greenways, Sant Joan, was created for resonance and describes the area as having ‘bicycle lanes, wide pathways, greenery and spacious outdoor seats for self-propelled mobility and exploration’. Bonus: until it moves into more permanent quarters later this decade, Mercat de l’Abaceria, the city’s famed food market, is also housed there. After its restoration, the city’s top 10 outdoor rankings should rise. Additionally, exploring the city’s streets while travelling to the city’s Sights & Landmarks, ranked No. 10 in the nation, by foot or bicycle. Further, those are reopening. Along with enhancing the region’s architectural and artistic legacy, the city’s famous La Rambla street is undergoing extensive renovations to see the majestic 17th-century Teatre Principal in the neighbourhood reopen in 2024.
7. ROME:
Few places provide the opportunity to stroll through Western history, like Roma. If you have an hour, Palatine Hill alone draws you into two millennia’s worth. It’s simple to see how Rome made the Best Cities Top 10 again this year (after just missing out in 2021) when you consider the city’s abundance of time portals, accessibility, and safety (#23). Even in a town where you can’t walk a block without encountering anything that’s thousands of years old, a dozen different museums and cultural attractions have recently reopened or have been unveiled for the first time. As a result, Rome’s #7 Museums ranking will improve. To be noticed are the newly restored Augustus Mausoleum and Casa Romana, a house from the 4th century located beneath Giovanni Barracco’s Museum of Ancient Sculpture. A newcomer is the Museo Ninfeo, which documents the remains of a Roman emperor’s… let’s call it “vacation property” because every cobblestone street in the city bears witness to its historical attractions. Still, the city never takes its laurel wreaths for granted. The city’s first Hoxton hotel and imminent Colosseum renovations are two new reasons to travel; remember to avoid sitting on the Spanish Steps when you return.
8. MADRID:
The most excellent way to see the city’s wide boulevards and the Reina Sofia or Prado museum galleries is on foot. But remember to take an afternoon nap since Madrid’s nightlife is not to be missed. In Madrid, it begins with an emphasis on current resources and the notion that everything old can be made new again. From the Madrid Edition by Marriott International, housed in the former Monte de Piedad de Madrid building, to the stunning Metrópolis building’s new life as a boutique hotel, spa, private club and numerous restaurants, many of the 20 recently opened and soon-to-open high-end hotels are committed to reusing. Speaking about dining establishments, in 2022 alone, more than 50 new ones debuted, with a similar number expected in 2023. also, the Madrid Nuevo Norte Project, Europe’s largest urban redevelopment initiative, will turn the industrial wasteland of railway lands and brownfields north of the city into social housing, a transit hub and new office spaces focusing on meeting UN Sustainable Development Goals. The project also invests in social housing and equitable development. Its current middle-of-the-pack ranking (#56) for Income Equality is encouraged by this.
9. SINGAPORE:
The Country’s 50-year transformation from politically unstable, resource-poor, and unskilled ex-colony to talent- and money-hungry shipping metropolis (the world’s busiest) and, later, Asia’s wealth management capital is a feat of place-brand engineering at its most ambitious. Unsurprisingly, the city has never ended outside of the Top 10 in our seven years of rating, and Singapore has already committed $16 billion to become a worldwide research and development centre. Its 2020 Research, Innovation, and Enterprise Plan aims to replicate Nordic and Israeli innovation and R&D, with much of the money going to local institutions. This emphasis on research, health, and technology is intended to provide Singapore with a new front to match its financial supremacy. It builds on the citizenry’s human capital, which is already in the top five in our GDP per capita categorisation. Resonance also said The Little Red Dot, as the city-state is affectionately known, earned high rankings for Safety and Foreign-Born Population; it earns top marks in our eyes (and stomachs) for its famous hawker stall street food, its garden-like airport terminal and the reopened Raffles Singapore hotel, which has been welcoming travellers since 1887. Keep a watch out for the results of the Singapore Green Plan 2030, which includes 800-plus miles of bike lanes and the recently reopened nine-mile Rail Corridor. Singapore is one country you can confidently say truly went from grass to grace.
10. AMSTERDAM:
This, the smallest city in the Top 50, is a little but tremendous dynamo to watch, led by visionary mayor Femke Halsema (literally: she’s also a filmmaker), the city’s first non-interim female mayor, which is actually cool. Her administration’s actual management of land (and its residents) that is frequently abandoned to the tourist euro is co-authoring a future of accountability for those who call the alluring Dutch capital home. Consider the recent response to a refugee accommodation crisis, which resulted in hundreds of unhoused migrants, many fleeing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sleeping outside the city’s overflowing resource centres: housing more than 1,000 on a moored cruise ship for six months, buying crucial time to find alternative arrangements. Not surprisingly, the city’s top three scores for Income Equality and top five ranking for Labour Force Participation reflect this concern for others and the desire of people to perform the work and today, evidence of this prosperity and self-assurance can be found in every nook and cranny of the country. Amsterdam’s simple accessibility—along with picturesque canals and world-class museums—makes it a favourite destination for every Euro vacation. Aside from its outstanding cultural offerings, Amsterdam is also at the forefront of sustainable tourism. In 2018, one hospitality business began converting Amsterdam’s decommissioned bridge houses into elegant stand-alone hotel rooms, and by 2030, all petrol and diesel automobiles will be prohibited in the city.
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