PORTLAND - Portland was the only U.S. city on a recent list of the world’s most liveable cities, as ranked by British magazine Monocle.
Monocle’s Quality of Life Survey 2014 ranked 25 cities based on data including crime rates, healthcare, state-funded education, and business climate, along with a “liveability assessment” that considers green space, culture, sunshine, and local businesses, among other factors. The Rose City was ranked 23 out of 25, and joined Vancouver (15) as the two cities to make the global list.
“Once again, Portland edges out its neighbor Seattle, thanks to its innovative and creative residents,” the magazine reported.
Past honoree San Francisco was also left off the list this year.
Portland’s healthy lifestyles and liberal outlooks “lend residents a healthy and somewhat self-satisfied glow,” according to Monocle.
That glow is likely to increase after being told our city handily beat our neighbors to the north and south.
Portland also scored high marks for its public transportation, vibrant food scene, numerous bookstores, LEED-certified buildings and relatively low crime rates.
Monocle said one area where Portland could improve was with its daily newspaper.
While we may be glowing from our ranking, Portland wasn’t even close to winner Copenhagen, which offers an incredible amount of cultural opportunities for its relatively small number of residents.
The Danish city has about as many residents as Portland (570,200 vs. 603,100), but it has 13 daily newspapers, 90 bookstores, and more than 70 art galleries.
It also has an extremely low crime rate, with just one murder recorded last year.
Other cities rounding out the top five were Tokyo, Melbourne, Stockholm and Helsinki.
European cities made up the majority of the rest of the top 25, with a few Australian and Asian cities joining the group. No South American, Central American or African cities made the list.
August 8, 2014 12:49 AM
