Melbourne named 'most liveable city'

Melbourne, Aug 18: Australia's Melbourne city has been named the world's most liveable city for the sixth consecutive year.

The Global Liveability Ranking, released by The Economist on Thursday, scored 140 cities on health care, infrastructure, culture, environment and stability and awarded Melbourne a total of 97.5 out of a possible 100 points, Xinhua news agency reported.

Melbourne was one of three Australian cities ranked in the top 10, with Adelaide and Perth ranking equal fifth and seventh respectively. Vienna ranked No.2 on the list for the eighth consecutive year with a rating of 97.4 points with Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, Auckland, Helsinki and Hamburg rounding out the top 10.

Robert Doyle, Melbourne's Lord Mayor, said that while the accolade was something to be proud of.

"We do not take this title for granted and are constantly planning and implementing policies that will continue to improve our quality of life," Doyle said on Thursday.

"It's the little things also make a big difference: planting more trees, recycling stormwater, making more parks and green spaces, providing better paths and connections for pedestrians and cyclists, as well as embracing technology and data to improve our operations."

The Economist said that social unrest and the rising threat of terrorism resulted in 20 percent of cities scoring worse than they did in the 2015 survey.

"The decline is largely a result of heightened fears over terrorism with more than 1,000 reported attacks in 2016 so far, with incidents in France, Turkey, the US and Belgium being the most high profile," The Economist's report said.

"Factors such as social unrest in many US cities due to the deaths of black people in police custody, tensions in Eastern Europe and Asia and the ongoing civil wars in Ukraine, Syria and Libya have compounded the decline."

IANS