Istanbul?s Residents Say?

Posted by Rebecca Eggleston on October 22, 2009 |

If you’re interested in a snapshot of resident sentiments in other parts of the world, here’s a survey of Istanbul’s residents, undertaken by Ipsos for the Urban Age City Survey.

According to the study, Istanbul residents’ top three reasons for liking Istanbul are job opportunities, health services and schools.

And what is their number one concern, ranking above crime rates and cost of living?  Traffic congestion.

Residents see the top three ways to improve quality of life as: working on education, the environment and traffic.

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Worlds Most Liveable Cities survey

Posted by Rebecca Eggleston on August 12, 2008 |

Monocle’s 2008 listing of the World’s Top 25 Most Liveable Cities features two new U.S. entries to the list.  Along with Honolulu, which was included in the first listing last year, Minneapolis and Portland have also ranked in this survey of the cities that offer the best quality of life. 

The selection process was based on factors such as global transport connections, communications, environmental initiatives, crime rates, architectural offerings, public services, urban planning and urban village life.   Interesting to note that this year “metrics to gauge the cultural footprint of cities as well as the ease of opening a small business” were added.

Honolulu placed 12th, Minneapolis 19th and Portland 25th in the survey.

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Why We Like Cities

Posted by Carol Coletta on July 31, 2008 |

What would 8,500 people in 14 major cities on five continents say about the places they live?  That’s what French-based Veolia Environnement set out to learn when they commissioned a first-of-its-kind survey that was released July 29.

Here’s what they learned:

People value cities for the things that often get overlooked – the convenience of city living, the ability to enjoy sporting and cultural activities, the cultural dynamism of cities and the possibilities for going out and having fun.  Americans, especially, like the diversity of people found in cities.

But people dislike traffic jams, pollution, noise, dirtiness and poor management of public services.  They also complained about crowds, lack of safety, public transportation problems, stress and anonymity.

Some of these drawbacks, of course, are just part of city life.   It’s hard to have cultural dynamism without crowds.  And with crowds come some inconvenience.
Plus, when asked what I dislike about my city, I’m going to find something to complain about.

But this survey is valuable to urban policymakers everywhere as they make tough choices about where and how to invest in their community’s success.

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