The 20 Best Cities On The Planet

tokyo japan at night

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Tokyo topped the ranking with impressive technology, economy, and an ability to attract talent from all over the world.

With globalization, climate change, and social and economical challenges, today’s world cities need to adapt like never before.

The IESE Business School in Spain is out with its annual Cities in Motion Index (ICIM), which ranks the world’s best ("smartest") cities — those that have the highest levels of innovation, sustainability, and quality of life. T his year, Tokyo came in first with its impressive public management, technology, economy, and the ability to attract talent from all over the world.

To establish the ranking, researchers studied 135 cities across 55 countries, and based their results on over 50 indicators along 10 different dimensions including governance, public management, urban planning, technology, environment, international outreach, social cohesion, mobility and transportation, human capital (ability to attract talent), and economy. (You can read more about the categories and methodology here.)

Of the top 20 cities, 10 are European (London, Paris, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Eindhoven, Zürich, Basel, and Geneva), six are in the U.S. (New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Baltimore), three are in Asia (Tokyo, Seoul, and Osaka), and one is Oceanian (Sydney). Below is the full list of the top 20 cities:

1. Tokyo

2. London

3. New York

4. Zürich

5. Paris

6. Geneva

7. Basel

8. Osaka

9. Seoul

10. Oslo

11. Philadelphia

12. Los Angeles

13. Dallas

14. Copenhagen

15. Eindhoven

16. Amsterdam

17. Sydney

18. Stockholm

19. Chicago

20. Baltimore

Out of all 135 cities researched, Barcelona is the metropolis that made the best progress overall, moving from 63rd to 51st place in only two years, according to IESE. Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic ranked last, mostly due to low ratings in transportation, technology, human capital, and economy.

After Santo Domingo, the bottom cities were mostly in Brazil, including Fortaleza (133), Recife (132), Brasilia (131), Belo Horizonte (129), Porto Alegre (128), and Salvador (127). Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, was ranked 134, La Paz, Bolivia, was ranked 130, and Caracas, Venezuela, was ranked 126 to round out the bottom 10 cities.

You can also see an interactive map of the cities in each country by going to the IESE Cities In Motion Index 2014 website.

IESE Top Cities index 2014

IESE Cities in Motion Index (ICIM)

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