Challenges in the City - Quality Of Life Index

In December 1999 the magazine Asiaweek published the equivalent of an annual report card on urban areas. What makes a city a pleasant place to live in? Clean air counts, as does economic vitality. Of course, good looks help. The 40 candidates surveyed could not parade in front of judges, so they were measured by allocating points depending on their performance in 23 indicators; including

• average life expectancy
• hospital beds per 1,000 people
• average class size in primary school
• university-educated people
• sulfur dioxide and dust particles in the air
• monthly rental and ratio of housing to income
• number of vehicles on city roads
• existence of a mass transit system
• unemployment rate
• annual urban inflation rate
• criminal cases for every 10,000 persons
• number of telephones per 1,000 people
• average time to commute to work
• percentage of population with sewerage
• average income

Who Won?

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