Melbourne is the most liveable and loveable city for the seventh consecutive year

It is certainly not surprising that Damascus, Lagos and Tripoli feature at the bottom of this year’s Global Liveability report. That Melbourne, Vienna, Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary retain their places at the top of the order, however, is telling.

Barring Vienna, the other four salubrious cities are in countries noted for their low population and wide open spaces, as are the next four: Adelaide, Perth, Auckland and Helsinki. Congestion and crime have consistently kept London, Paris, New York and Tokyo off the top, so Melbourne’s seven-year reign as the most liveable city is truly commendable.

While Tehran, Abidjan and Harare are listed as having “improved” the most, they are not likely to be on the bucket list of those in search of a cushier life. Chickening out of relocating to Kiev — which, along with Detroit and Moscow, has declined the most — would be advisable too.

Expectedly, no Indian city has figured among the top 10, but given that terror incidents and infrastructure were factors for the rankings, it is a relief that none are among the last 10 in the 140-city list either, though Karachi (134) and Dhaka (137) are.

As denizens of practically every urban sprawl in India list their woes, the Union urban development ministry’s nationwide City Liveability Index will be eagerly awaited at the end of this year.