Do you remember the quality of life rankings, with Swiss or Scandinavian cities always in the top positions? Well, Covid has also taken away this certainty from us. Notwithstanding that it is very difficult to measure the livability of a city, the Economist has tried again this year in its Liveability report 2021, in which he could not fail to take into account the often devastating effects of the pandemic. Thus Europe, which usually occupies the first positions, has been overtaken by the rest of the world, in particular by Oceania and Japan which occupy the first six positions with, in order, Auckland, Osaka, Adelaide, Wellington, Tokyo (preparing to host the Olympics), Perth. Two historic champions such as Geneva and Zurich are relegated to the bottom of the top ten, followed again by Melbourne and Brisbane.
The "mystery" is soon revealed: the annual report of the Economist, which examines 140 cities around the world (in Italy, Rome and Milan), is based on five evaluation categories, namely stability, culture and environment, education , infrastructure and healthcare. That is why they have invariably been the countries least affected by the pandemic were awarded, either because they reacted promptly by closing the borders and controlling outbreaks (in New Zealand only 26 people died from Covid), or because they agreed to live with the virus as far as possible, without penalizing citizens' daily activities and lives, or because they were particularly quick in vaccinating. This last parameter explains, for example, the incredible leap in the standings of Honolulu, the capital of Hawaii, which gains 46 positions and is 14th. In the United States, the comebacks of Houston and Miami also stand out, now 28th and 31st.
Madrid also gains 25 positions, the only European city to mark an improvement, also in this case explained by the political choice not to make the lockdown too heavy: in the metropolitan area of the Spanish capital, schools, bars and restaurants have been open since May 2020. With Madrid 19th and Barcelona climbing 22 places to 16th, Spain places two cities in the top-20. The same cannot be said of Italy: according to the Economist Rome is the sixth city in the world to have recorded the most visible deterioration. Today it is 57th, 21 positions less than last year, with a score of 77.3: "Day-to-day living is fine, in general, but some aspects of life may entail problems", is the report card of the British newspaper. All in all, day to day life is not bad, but some aspects can create problems. As soon as he gets better he goes to Milan.
However, the worst setback is that of Vienna, triumphant in 2020 and today only 12th, as well as the German cities, of which the Economist judges negatively especially the hospital systems, put "under stress" by the pandemic. Thus Hamburg, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt lose respectively 34, 29 and 28 positions, finishing around the 40-50 positions. Also worth noting is the Dublin flop: Ireland is often referred to as a happy island in Europe, thanks to its tax system that has produced unprecedented growth and a lifestyle considered by many to be cool. No way, Covid has hit there too, and Dublin today is only the 51st city in the world where life is better, not much better than Rome. The absolute worst are Damascus in Syria and Lagos in Nigeria, but also nearby Tripoli is no joke: 135th out of 140.
