Auckland Most Liveable City as Covid Shakes Up Rankings

The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken up the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual ranking of most liveable cities, propelling Auckland to the top spot in place of Vienna, which crashed out of the top 10 altogether as the island nations of New Zealand, Australia and Japan f

BY Realty Plus
Published - Thursday, 10 Jun, 2021

Auckland Most Liveable City as Covid Shakes Up Rankings

The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken up the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual ranking of most liveable cities, propelling Auckland to the top spot in place of Vienna, which crashed out of the top 10 altogether as the island nations of New Zealand, Australia and Japan fared best. The Austrian capital had led the list since 2018 and for years ran neck and neck with Melbourne at the top of the survey of 140 urban centres. New Zealand’s elimination of Covid-19 within its borders, through lockdown measures helped by its geographic isolation, gave its cities a big boost. Despite their many strengths, both Auckland and Wellington – another New Zealand city that hit the top five – have some significant challenges to liveability. The two cities have some of the least affordable housing in the world, with a median house price of $1,100,000 (£559,000). Auckland’s traffic is the worst in New Zealand, and it boasts of the second-worst gridlock in Oceania. Both have struggled with amenities such as cycle lanes and public transport. Wellington is plagued by old, cold and damp housing, and more than a third of homes are too cold to be considered particularly liveable in winter. New Zealand’s tough lockdown allowed their society to reopen and enabled citizens of cities like Auckland and Wellington to enjoy a lifestyle that looked similar to pre-pandemic life. The EIU generally does not make the full ranking public. The last time Auckland was in the top 10 was in 2017, when it came eighth, a position Melbourne shared with Geneva this year. Vienna fell to 12th. Cities across the world are now much less liveable than they were before the pandemic began, and we’ve seen that regions such as Europe have been hit particularly hard.