Taipei has placed sixth in a global award that ranks 110 cities worldwide based on their level of inclusive prosperity, the Taipei City government said late on Thursday.
The first annual report by the Prosperity and Inclusive City Seal and Awards (PICSA), released at an awards ceremony in Bilbao, Spain, on Thursday, showcases not only the amount that a city’s economy has grown, but also the quality and distribution of that growth across the city’s various populations.
The measure of a city’s inclusive prosperity included GDP per capita, personal safety, housing affordability and environmental quality, as well as access to education, Internet and healthcare.
At sixth in the rankings, Taiwan performed the best in Asia, followed by Tokyo at 39th. Osaka, Japan, finished 44th, while Singapore finished 46th, Seoul 49th and Hong Kong 70th.
Globally, Zurich, Switzerland, topped the rankings, followed by Vienna, Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Helsinki.
After Taipei, the top 10 were filled out by Oslo; Ottawa; Kiel, Germany; and Geneva, Switzerland. Bilbao was ranked 20th.
Taipei stood out thanks to its efforts at sustainability development and the city’s zero-waste approach, which aims to conserve natural resources and reduce pollution from extraction, manufacturing and disposal, the report said.
Taipei has a rich, export-driven economy and a high-tech sector that leads the world in the communications and information technology industry, the report said.
The awards ceremony for the PICSA Top 20 was held at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, with Taipei City Government spokesperson Chou Tai-chu (周台竹) attending the event on behalf of Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲).
The PICSA report was commissioned by the Basque Government and compiled by Australian-based consulting firm D&L Partners.
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