Joanne Chan Channel NewsAsia 29 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE: Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index. It was ranked third worldwide coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index.
Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.
When it comes to liveability, Singapore has been ranked up there with some of Europe's best cities.
In individual rankings, it came in first for domestic security and stability and third for good governance and leadership.
And it ranked 5th for economic vibrancy and quality of life.
But Singapore paled in the area of eco-friendliness and sustainability which looked at things like pollution and environmental initiatives.
Dr Tan Khee Giap, lead researcher, Global Liveable Cities Index, said: "We did very well on water management but this data is not available to most cities. Data which is available in Singapore but not available in most of the 64 cities we studied, will not be used."
Dr Tan said cities can work with the centre if they want to improve their ranking.
He said: "We do simulations by looking at cities and identify 20 weakest indicators among the more than 100 indicators we have. And hypothetically, if you improve your weakest 20%, how would your ranking be raised? So in that sense, it is more constructive than just doing a ranking which can be a beauty contest."
These preliminary findings of the index were unveiled at the World Cities Summit on Tuesday.
The Centre for Liveable Cities said the index is still a work in progress.
While the index is comprehensive and covers 135 indicators, it is by no means complete.
Dr Tan said that they may be looking to include more factors such as gender bias.
Other cities, such as Penang and Tatarstan, have also indicated interest in being included in the index.
The index's framework will be put up for further discussion during a workshop at the summit on Wednesday.
The Centre for Liveable Cities said its index stands out from other current rankings as it takes a more balanced approach.
But the way it’s computed will be discussed and refined further.
Andrew Tan, director, Centre for Liveable Cities, said: "In terms of looking at liveability from a more holistic and balanced framework, I think there are probably very few, if any, such set of indicators around."
Separately, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan also proposed a "Learning Network for Cities," to share the best practices in building a liveable city.
He said: “Cities differ from one another in size and character. They are shaped by their own demographics, cultures and traditions, their history and geography.
“But there are some recurring themes in the sustainable development practices of successful cities. These themes include strong governance, citizen engagement, balancing development and the environment, and international collaborations."
The push for sustainable urban living comes at a time when cities are growing at an unprecedented rate.
Every day, about 200,000 people move in cities and towns and by 2050, seven in 10 people will live in cities.
This presents challenges for governments to provide access to clean water, affordable housing and good sanitation. - CNA/vm
Singapore is Asia's most liveable city
Republic ranks third globally in new holistic and balanced index
Robin Chan Straits Times 30 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE is the most liveable city in Asia and ranks third in the world, according to a newly developed index.
Preliminary findings from the Global Liveable Cities Index, developed in Singapore, put the city state behind only Swiss cities Geneva and Zurich globally. It ranked well ahead of Hong Kong, as well as Japan's Tokyo and Osaka.
While Singapore came in tops in safety, it ranked only 14th out of 64 countries in the area of environmental friendliness and sustainability. It was third in the category of governance and fifth for economic vibrancy and quality of life.
These were the five criteria used in the index, which was commissioned by the Centre for Liveable Cities and designed by a team at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy and academics in Switzerland.
'No doubt this is not a comprehensive list, but we thought that these are five key areas that every city should provide for their citizens,' said Mr Andrew Tan, director of the Centre for Liveable Cities.
In releasing the findings at the World Cities Summit yesterday, the index's authors claimed it is one of the most comprehensive and balanced indicators of liveability yet devised. It competes head on with a range of existing quality benchmarks, including Mercer's Quality of Living Survey, British publication Monocle's most liveable city index, and the Economist Intelligence Unit's Liveability Ranking.
'Each of these have their own purpose, but in terms of looking at liveability from a holistic, and...balanced framework, I think there are probably very few, if any, such sets of indicators around,' said Mr Tan, who is also co-chairman of the summit.
He said the index, which is planned for a full release in time for the next summit in 2012, has been designed to be used as a tool to guide policymaking.
On Singapore's weaker performance in the area of environmental protection, Dr Tan Khee Giap, who heads the research team behind the index, said it was due to insufficient data from other cities.
'We did very well in water management, but this is data not available from most of the 64 cities. In that sense, there is an over-exaggeration of Singapore's position in terms of its ranking of environmental friendliness,' Dr Tan said.
'But we hope to embark on more survey data gathering...to get a more complete set of indicators for the environment, and we hope we can better reflect Singapore's position.'
Singapore third most liveable city: study
Emilyn Yap Business Times 30 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE is the third most liveable city in the world, going by preliminary findings from a broad-based study commissioned by a think-tank here.
The Centre for Liveable Cities (CLC) released initial results from its Global Liveable Cities Index (GLCI) at the World Cities Summit (WCS) yesterday. Of the 64 cities assessed, Geneva emerged tops and Zurich second. Copenhagen and Helsinki tied at fourth.
Asia-Pacific cities which made it to the top 20 include Hong Kong (eighth), Melbourne (10th), Osaka (16th) and Tokyo (18th).
CLC got the study going in 2008 to assess cities' liveability in five areas: economic vibrancy and competitiveness; environmental friendliness and sustainability; domestic security and stability; quality of life and diversity; and governance and leadership.
GLCI is still a piece of work in progress, but CLC and some of the study's co-authors will present it at a WCS session today to gather feedback on its criteria and methodology.
'In terms of looking at liveability from a more holistic and balanced framework, I think there are probably very few, if any, such set of indicators that are around,' CLC director and National Environment Agency CEO Andrew Tan told the press yesterday.
Across the five areas which the GLCI looked at, Singapore fared best in domestic security, coming in first. It scored fairly well in terms of governance, quality of life and economic vibrancy. But its showing in eco-friendliness was weakest, at 14th place.
According to Tan Khee Giap, a co-author of the GLCI and associate professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, Singapore's green efforts could be underrated. He cited an example: the country did well in water management, but this was not reflected because comparable data was lacking in other cities.
Singapore is most liveable city in Asia
Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities ranks republic third worldwide behind Geneva and Zurich
Joanne Chan Today Online 30 Jun 10;
SINGAPORE - Singapore has emerged as the most liveable Asian city in a new index.
It was ranked third worldwide, coming in behind Geneva and Zurich in the Global Liveable Cities Index. Published by Singapore's Centre for Liveable Cities, the index looked at 64 cities including 36 from Asia.
In individual rankings, Singapore came in first for domestic security and stability, and third for good governance and leadership. And it ranked fifth for economic vibrancy and quality of life.
But the republic paled in the area of eco-friendliness and sustainability, which looked at things like pollution and environmental initiatives.
Dr Tan Khee Giap, lead researcher of Global Liveable Cities Index, said: "We did very well on water management but this data is not available to most cities. Data which is available in Singapore but not available in most of the 64 cities we studied, will not be used."
These preliminary findings were unveiled at the World Cities Summit yesterday. While the index is comprehensive and covers 135 indicators, it is by no means complete. Dr Tan said more factors may be included.
The index's framework will be discussed during a workshop at the summit today.
The Centre for Liveable Cities said its index stands out from other current rankings as it takes a more balanced approach. But the way its computed will be discussed and refined further.
Mr Andrew Tan, director of Centre for Liveable Cities, said: "In terms of looking at liveability from a more holistic and balanced framework, I think there are probably very few, if any, such set of indicators around."
Every day, about 200,000 people move into cities and towns and by 2050, seven in 10 will live in cities. This presents challenges for governments to provide access to clean water, affordable housing and good sanitation.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan proposed a "Learning Network for Cities" to share the best practices in building a liveable city.
He said although cities differ from one another in size and character, there are some recurring themes in the development practices of successful cities. These include strong governance, citizen engagement, balancing development and the environment, and international collaborations.
