Here in Cascadia we're used to hearing that this is among the world's most "livable" places. It's a squishy, feel-good moniker that obscures our challenges.
Vancouver regularly tops international rankings and Portland is a media darling for its hipster qualities and great refreshments. One shared feature of supposedly "livable" cities is that not many people live in them, notes FT columnist Michael Skapinker.
See also: Decisions that made a great city
Less than 2 million people live within the city limits of Vancouver, Portland and Seattle combined (the city of Seattle just topped 600K) and none rank among the top cities based on global business. I'd prefer to encourage more economic and cultural growth within Cascadia's cities since without clear benchmarks it's unclear how much progress we're making.
None of this takes away from the latest top-cities listings. Monocle magazine's list of top 25 ranks Vancouver as 14 and includes just one U.S. city (Honolulu at 11). Tokyo (3), Fukuoka (16) and Kyoto (22) make the list — but there's no Osaka, Yokohama or Sendai, which are all just as comfortable. It's editorial whim.
Comments
6 responses to “Maybe we’re not so ‘livable’”
You’re only counting the populations within the city limits. Metro Vancouver and Metro Portland are each north of 2m, Metro Seattle is closer to 3.3m, bringing the sum to about 7.5 million.
You’re only counting the populations within the city limits. Metro Vancouver and Metro Portland are each north of 2m, Metro Seattle is closer to 3.3m, bringing the sum to about 7.5 million.
You’re only counting the populations within the city limits. Metro Vancouver and Metro Portland are each north of 2m, Metro Seattle is closer to 3.3m, bringing the sum to about 7.5 million.
Absolutely right. In this case I was only referring to the proper cities. Metro areas are a different story: http://www.cascadiareport.com/cascadia_report/2007/04/how_cascadias_c.html
Absolutely right. In this case I was only referring to the proper cities. Metro areas are a different story: http://www.cascadiareport.com/cascadia_report/2007/04/how_cascadias_c.html
Absolutely right. In this case I was only referring to the proper cities. Metro areas are a different story: http://www.cascadiareport.com/cascadia_report/2007/04/how_cascadias_c.html