What makes a city reputable? This does not mean desirable, or the best economy or the most beautiful scenery – but what comprises the elements that can skyrocket certain cities around the world into the top of the reputation heap? The Reputation’s Institute City RepTrack “…identifies the most reputable cities based on perceptions of economy, environment, government and other factors.”
According to City RepTrack, a number of factors are taken into consideration when ranking cities based on reputation including, “…Advanced Economy, Effective Government and Appealing Environment. Cities with strong reputations are perceived positively in all three dimensions,” notes the RepTrack press release.
This year, for 2015, the cities that came out on top included Sydney, Australia; Barcelona, Spain; Geneva, Switzerland; Venice, Italy…and further down on the list were cities from North America including Vancouver, Canada and San Francisco, California.
According to RepTrack more than 19,000 people are surveyed in the G8 countries
What Cities Were Listed and Why:
Australia has been the clear winner since the reputable city research started back in 2011. The RepTrack report attributes this to the fact that “…both cities … stand out for the public’s perception of the quality of their institutions, strong economy and attractive environment.”
European cities are also popular on the list. Venice, Barcelona and others have continuously ranked high. “Cities in Northern Europe obtain better scores in reputation as they are well perceived in the rational dimensions but better emotional halos are reserved for those with more historical tradition,” states the RepTrack report.
The only American cities that have ranked were San Francisco and New York. As the founder and CEO of a New York City SEO company, I do take pride in the fact that New York City made the list! The report attributes this to the quality of the institutions, the overall environment in those areas as well as the advanced economy. I think we should give credit to the pizza and bagels!
Canada has made a steady showing on the top of list since RepTrack began in 2011, but even so, only Vancouver is ranked. The report notes that Vancouver is always in the top five worldwide cities for livability and quality of life.
Asia is an interesting story. The report says, “Asian cities achieve the highest reputation improvements, though they still have weak scores.” This could be a number of reasons – as the cities in Asia grow and change, Asia has over the years seen both amazing growth and even turmoil which may account for the current attitudes. The report says, “While China as a country improves its reputation, its main cities do as well: Shanghai (+10.1%), Hong-Kong (+9.3%) Macau (+5.8%) and Guangzhou (+5.0%).”
Overall, while many cities have stellar attributes, RepTrack says, “The good reputation of a city strongly correlates with an increase in the supportive behaviors shown towards the city, such as visiting the city, living or working in the city, or deciding to invest in the city.”
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