October 25, 2011 - The Huffington Post
Canada reports that on a list of the world's most
innovative cities compiled by 2thinknow, a Melbourne,
Australia-based consultancy.
Toronto places in the top 10, a sign the city continues to be a
vibrant economic centre despite the financial problems of recent
years.
Toronto placed tenth in a ranking of 331 benchmark cities from
2thinknow, a Melbourne, Australia-based consultancy.
Boston placed first on the list, while two other U.S. cities --
San Francisco (second) and New York (fourth) -- also placed in the
top 10.
The remaining top 10 cities were all in Europe -- Paris (third),
Vienna (fifth), Amsterdam (sixth), Munich (seventh), Lyon (eighth)
and Copenhagen (ninth).
2thinknow's index is based on 162 indicators
that the consultancy groups into three general categories: cultural
assets (arts, sports franchises); human infrastructure (startup
companies, health, education); and networked markets -- the city's
access to and role within the global economy.
Four Canadian cities made the top 100, but only Montreal, at
31st place, was listed along with Toronto as a "nexus" city -- one
of 33 urban areas that are at the heart of the global economy.
The other Canadian cities were listed as "hubs," cities that are
still vibrant centres of innovation but that play a relatively
smaller global role. Those cities were Vancouver at 49th, Quebec
City at 79th and Calgary at 81st.
2thinknow reports the Index is the most comprehensive city
ranking and scoring. Each city was selected from 1,540 cities based
on basic factors of health, wealth, population, geography.
The selected 331 cities had data extracted the city benchmarking
data program on 162 indicators. Each of the benchmarking data were
scored by analysts using best available qualitative analysis and
quantitative statistics.
All cities are graded into award categories based on their index
score. In descending order of importance to the innovation
economy:
NEXUS: Critical
nexus for multiple economic and social innovation segments
HUB: Dominance or
influence on key economic and social innovation segments , based on
global trends
NODE: Broad
performance across many innovation segments, with key
imbalances
INFLUENCER:
Competitive in some segments, potential or imbalanced
UPSTART: Potential
steps towards relative future performance in a few innovation
segments
Read More
Conference sessions at GLOBE 2012, taking
place March 14-16 , 2012 in Vancouver, Canada,
will explore the development of smarter cities, energy management,
water supply and access, innovative green building and
retrofitting, and clean transportation options.
One session in particular on green
infrastructure will explore how an integrated approach
that involves sustainability and land-use planning, greater use of
green technologies, and public policy and coordination across
departments and jurisdictions increases the efficiency and
cost-effectiveness of infrastructure development.
Get More information on GLOBE 2012
here