London the world’s second best city to live and work in

London has once again been listed as one of the world’s best places to live and work. An annual benchmark from management consultancy Kearney has found that the UK capital remains high on the list, while it has the best outlook of any city in the world in the coming years.

Despite the pressures of Brexit and the Government’s slapstick handling of the coronavirus pandemic, the UK’s capital city is still considered one of the world’s most stable population centres. 

The 2020 edition of the Global Cities Report by consultancy Kearney has found that London remains the best place in the world to invest. Examining the outlook of cities around the globe, London took top place in the ranking for the second year running, in a year where most cities rose or fell fairly dramatically in the pecking order. For example, while Toronto ascended nine places to rank second, Amsterdam declined by five rungs.

For cities of the United States, meanwhile, the future outlook is particularly uncertain. As the country’s President continues to dispute his recent electoral defeat, while new Covid-19 cases soar past 100,000 per day, several of the country’s cities have dropped out of the top 10, 30, and 50.

Kearney Partner Rudolph Lohmeyer commented, “While the full ramifications of the pandemic will only be understood in the coming months and years, it has shattered the status quo, revealing new challenges and opportunities for city leaders. What is already abundantly clear in the emerging reality is that previous status will not be enough to secure continued global prominence. Instead, city leaders will need to make strategic choices and investments, which are likely to look very different from years past, if they are to emerge stronger and more resilient.”

In contrast, Kearney’s index of the best cities to live and work in is much more consistent in 2020. New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo retain their respective top four positions, highlighting the breadth of advantages needed to reach and maintain the highest levels of global status. Meanwhile, the biggest changes come from Asia, where China’s continued crackdown on Hong Kong’s democratic rights means that the city state drops beneath Beijing as a top place to live and work.

Earlier in 2020, London was also identified as one of the world’s most mobility-friendly cities, with urban mobility options found to be well above average in the UK capital. The city remains one of the world’s leading financial hubs, and is also key location for technological innovation.