The Kiwi capital, Wellington, was ranked fourth in the 2021 Global Liveability Index, as cities with effective pandemic responses rose to the top of the rankings.
The EIU says New Zealand’s “tough lockdown” enabled many citizens to “enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to pre-pandemic life.
Cities are ranked on more than 30 qualitative and quantitative factors across five categories: stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure.
Japan’s Osaka was ranked the second most liveable city, joined in the top five by the country’s capital Tokyo.
Australia has four cities in the top ten, with Adelaide the highest ranking at number three.
COVID-19’s “heavy toll on global liveability”
The EIU says there has been an “unprecedented level of change in the rankings”, with the pandemic causing liveability to decline.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on global liveability. Cities across the world are now much less liveable than they were before the pandemic began, and we’ve seen that regions such as Europe have been hit particularly hard,” Upasana Dutt from the Economist Intelligence Unit said.
European and Canadian cities have fallen significantly in the rankings, due to the impact of lockdowns.
Austria’s capital was previously ranked the world’s most liveable city, but Vienna has dropped out of the top 10, falling to twelfth.
Hamburg had the biggest fall, falling 34 places to 47th.
Damascus, in Syria, continues to languish at the very bottom of the rankings, remaining the world’s least liveable city.
This week witnessed another milestone in the automotive industry as the legendary Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen embarked on its electric journey, aligning with global sustainability efforts.
Simultaneously, Toyota and Mazda debuted EV offerings tailored for the booming Chinese market, signalling a strategic shift towards collaboration with advanced Chinese partners.
While the electric G-Wagen promises both eco-friendliness and off-road prowess with its innovative design, questions arise about Japanese automakers’ perceived lag in EV development, countered by the strategic imperative to tap into the rapidly growing Chinese EV market. As automotive icons embrace electrification and traditional players adapt through partnerships, it’s clear that collaboration and innovation will drive the future of mobility.
As individuals face the daunting choice between paying off student debt, saving for a first home deposit, or exploring alternative options like rentvesting, careful consideration of various factors becomes imperative.
In the midst of these challenges, a couple in the inner north ingeniously employed a strategy to realise their dream of a larger home while managing HECS debt and affordability hurdles.
Rentvesting emerges as a viable solution for individuals grappling with the burdens of high HECS debt and property affordability issues.
Moreover, the decreasing income premium tied to a university degree is closely intertwined with changing economic dynamics and shifts in the job market, underscoring the need for innovative approaches to education and financial planning in today’s society.
TikTok users could soon find that the popular social media service is either under new ownership or could be outright banned in the United States.
President Joe Biden signed a bill into law that requires TikTok to find a new owner—or face a ban in the United States.
Over the past several months, Washington D.C. has been under pressure to ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app.
Lawmakers and security experts have long raised concerns that the Chinese government could tap TikTok’s trove of personal data about millions of U.S. users.
TikTok’s CEO said the bill is disappointing and reiterated that the company has committed to challenge it.
David Zhang from China Insider. joins Veronica Dudo to discuss