Overallits (News & Reviews)

New York and London top 2012 Cities of Opportunity

While New York officially edges out London by one point across 10 economic indicators, the city wins in no individual category. Toronto, which finishes third, also shows great balance yet wins no category. London, however, takes the lead in "city gateway," an indicator introduced this year that measures global interconnectedness and international attraction. Rounding out the leaders are Paris, which advances four spots from 2011 to number four, and Stockholm at number five.

In addition to looking at the current performance of 27 cities that are global capitals of finance, commerce and culture, the study for the first time analyzes city employment in the most significant and telling job sectors and projects the trajectory of the cities in jobs, economic output, and population to 2025.

"Cities succeed when they invest in core needs important to both people and businesses," said Bob Moritz, PwC's US Chairman and Senior Partner. "When a city invests continuously and aggressively in critical areas, including education, healthcare, safety and infrastructure, it creates a healthy urban environment. Entrepreneurs and businesses thrive, the city economy grows, and long-term resiliency follows."

"The Cities of Opportunity report is a detailed and insightful analysis of how leading global cities stack up against one another," said Partnership for New York City President and CEO Kathryn Wylde. "New York City and London, along with other established cities, maintain their top status because of a depth and diversity of strength across all measures. But the true value of this report is not just the rankings; it is that every city can learn from one another about what works when building a 21st century city."