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Toronto ranked second among top global cities
As 2020 draws to a close, Toronto has been ranked #2 for its outlook among top cities of the world in a well-respected report.
The Global Cities research reports are published each year by Keareny, a leading global management consulting firm, and rank major cities across the world based on a set of key dimensions, including personal well-being of residents, economics and business activity in the city, as well as political engagement and governance.
While in the index analyzing current state Toronto placed a modest 19th (between Melbourne and Moscow, and just below Seoul, Madrid, and Berlin), it jumped the whole 9 spots compared to last year in the survey of the cities outlook.
Global Cities Outlook
The Global Cities Outlook index focuses on how the cities create the right conditions for their future global status. And Toronto impressed by reaching #2, second only to London. For comparison, it ranked 20th for outlook in 2015 and 12th in 2018.
According to the research, “Toronto jumped an impressive 9 places, driven by a large upswing in innovation and continued strong governance”.
In addition, the Global Cities Report noted that Toronto is leading among other global cities in growing private investments and quality of city bureaucracy.
Among other most significant changes on the list of cities based on outlook were Abu Dhabi (gaining 13 spots to place 7th), Montreal (moving up 10 places to #13), and Dubai (shifting 14 spots up to the 18th)
The report highlighted uncertainly and multitude of challenges facing global cities due to the impact of COVID-19. From abandonment of city centers (such as in the case of Paris, where according to the cell phone data collected by Orange population may have shrunk by approximately 20%) to strain on local budget due to coronavirus mitigation measures, cities around the world are facing major shifts. Many of those are just beginning to unfold and are extremely hard to quantify.
However, despite the impact of the pandemic, Toronto appears to be one of the emerging leaders due to its unique cosmopolitan foundation and resilience.