City ranked poorly in cost of living, carbon footprint and mobile phone penetration

The Partnership for New York City and PricewaterhouseCoopers this week issued their third annual edition of "Cities of Opportunity" that "takes the pulse of 21 leading centers of business, finance and culture after a sobering economic downturn but looking out toward a growing vitality and significance that is lifting up the world's great cities."

The 70-page report examines how cities compare in 58 categories.

"Today," it maintained, "major signs say the Great Recession of 2008-2009 is over. But feelings of uncertainty - a questioning of institutions and values - remain. In this light, a vital urban spirit appears to be taking hold worldwide. It revolves around trends in education, communications, travel and demographics that put cities, not rural areas, at the center of the socioeconomic map. Awareness has heightened that more sustainable approaches to transportation, building, energy, waste and water are needed, as well as new policies and plans for the post-industrial, people-centered transformation cities are undergoing."

The report noted that "second cities" are faring quite well. "Chicago, Stockholm, Sydney, Toronto and Singapore perform well in many quality of life as well as economic indicators, providing both businesses and residents a strong balance." "New York, London, Paris and Tokyo may surpass them in breadth and depth of resources, as expected from longstanding world capitals, but pound for pound 'second cities' are proving resilient and increasingly attractive to business and citizens."

Stockholm, which last year was named the Green Capital of Europe, "comes in first or second," it found, "in an impressive range of variables including higher education, e-readiness, miles of transit track, congestion management, infant survival, greenness and air quality, and R&D spending per capita."

Toronto led the study in city livability, with high quality of life and health and a diverse population with advanced education and this year was building more skyscrapers than any city except Tokyo, the report continued.

Shanghai ranked highest in foreign direct investment and Singapore comes out first or second in shareholder protection and ease of hiring and tops in housing, infant survival, congestion management and lack of crime, according to the study.

Tokyo, it said, "performs at the top of health and medical care variables, befitting the center of Japan where the average lifespan of 83 years leads the world."

Paris, it said, "rates in the top two gauges of education, green policies and the scope of entertainment, embassies and fashion."

The report said that New York City ranked first in lifestyle assets as well as technology IQ and innovation, second highest in intellectual capital, third highest in economic clout as well as ease of doing business, fourth highest in transportation in infrastructure, sixth highest in sustainability as well as health, safety and security.

New York City had the highest overall score as a "power city" of 295, followed by, in descending order, London, Tokyo, Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Chicago, Toronto, Sydney, Mexico City, Sao Paolo, Mumbai, Dubai, Los Angeles, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Santiago and Johannesburg.

In the "quality/intensity" overall scoring, however, New York came in fifth behind Toronto, Stockholm, Sydney and Chicago (which was number one).

New York ranked poorly in cost of business occupancy, cost of living, commute time, air quality, recycled waste, mobile phone penetration, business trip index, city livability, city carbon footprint and thermal comfort.