After seven years of Melbourne’s dominance on the Economist Intelligence Unit’s rank of most liveable cities, the Australian metropolis has been substituted with Vienna. Bratislava should now be looking for inspiration from the latest development.
It’s important to note that Slovakia is facing its local elections on November 10th. While the most liveable city lies only 55 kilometers from Bratislava, there are few who are trying to implement this vision in the Slovak capital city.
“Bratislava shouldn’t vision dethroning Vienna, this would be a work for decades. However the Austrian metropolis should act as an inspiration for how to improve the quality of life in the capital city,” says Lukáš Krivošík for Postoj.sk.
In evaluation, several indicators are present which are independent of local politics. The threat of terrorism is measured indirectly similarly to the level of corruption and access to sports facilities, and the presence of petty crimes.
There are a few structural limitations: Bratislava can never overcome the absence of museums, however every city should find the opportunities in the market and improve itself in those and many other areas.
The concept of “good cities” is based on hard to measure dimensions such as friendliness, cleanliness and a willingness to help foreigners.
