Calgary is the world’s best city when it comes to healthy living, according to an international survey released by a London-based consulting firm.
The report by Mercer Human Resource Consulting put Calgary at the top of a list of 144 cities. It scored 121 points, just above Honolulu’s score of 120.
Helsinki came in fourth with 119.5, followed closely by Ottawa, with 118.5 points.
Three other Canadian cities came in the top 20. Montreal and Vancouver tied for ninth and Toronto came in at 18th.
Oslo, Stockholm, Zurich, Bern and Geneva, and Nurnberg also ranked in the top 20.
The scores are based on air pollution levels, availability and quality of hospitals and medical supplies, as well as the efficiency of waste removal and sewage systems.
“The top cities … have a combination of excellent hospital services and medical supplies and low levels of air pollution and infectious disease,” Slagin Parakatil, Mercer’s senior researcher, said.
“Most of the low-scoring cities are in developing countries which have insufficient resources and infrastructure for good sanitation.”
In America, the lowest scoring city was Atlanta, which came in 76th.
Athens was the lowest scoring city in Western Europe, ranking 120th because of its air pollution. London ranked 59th.
In another survey by Mercer Consulting on the most expensive cities in the world, Ottawa ranked the least expensive Canadian city. It ranked 124th. Toronto moved up to 89th position from 104th in 2002.
“Though still relatively inexpensive, Canadian cities continue to move up in the rankings due to the strength of the Canadian dollar,” it said.
The survey is drafted twice a year and is used primarily to help multinational companies determine pay for expatriate employees.
Toyko and London came in at the top of the list, followed by Moscow in third place. Osaka, Japan and Hong Kong round out the list of the top five.
The most expensive American city is New York, dropping two spots from last year to 12.
