TOKYO – (BUSINESS WIRE) – November 23, 2021–

London, New York, Tokyo, Paris and Singapore again appeared in that order as the most attractive cities in the world in the Global Power City Index (GPCI) 2021 report. This report is published by the Institute for Urban Strategies of the Mori Memorial Foundation, a research organization created by Mori Building, a leading urban developer in Tokyo. The GPCI-2021 showed no significant changes in the ranking of major cities, but the city-wide lockdowns, travel restrictions, behavioral restrictions and changes in work styles associated with the outbreak of COVID-19 since the start of 2020 have affected various indicators. This had a marked impact on the dynamics of the target cities.

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The 48 major cities of the world ranked by the Mori Memorial Foundation’s GPCI-2021 report (Graphic: Business Wire)

Since 2008, the GPCI’s annual report has ranked at least 40 major cities in terms of “magnetism” – their overall power to attract creative individuals and businesses from around the world. Cities are rated on the basis of 70 indicators in six functions: Economy, R&D, Cultural interaction, Habitability, Environment and Accessibility. In order to reflect changing conditions affecting global cities, the GPCI is continuously refining its indicators and data collection methods.

In the GPCI-2021, there are 19 indicators that are believed to have been affected by COVID-19. (Details will be described later.) Each impact can be divided into four categories: Travel Restrictions, Business Activity, Work Style and Urban Environment. In terms of travel restrictions, many cities have seen a decline in international air travel and passenger traffic, and cities with strong international networks have been seriously affected in terms of accessibility and cultural interaction. In addition, economic stagnation has negatively impacted business activities in many cities. On the other hand, COVID-19 has brought positive changes: improvements in the style of work and in the urban environment. In many target cities, the number of working hours decreased and the flexibility of the working style appeared to improve. (The questionnaire for assessing work flexibility has improved.)

Highlights (cities ranked 1 to 5)

London (# 1)

Although London has maintained its No.1 position in the overall ranking, the city has been significantly affected by COVID-19. Its accessibility ranking fell from last year, as did its economy score due to lower “total employment”. The fact that all other European cities have increased their scores in economics suggests that the UK’s exit from the EU is starting to have an impact, allowing other European cities to start catching up with London. The city has maintained its uninterrupted status as the 1st in cultural interaction since the start of the GPCI, so the question going forward is can London use its strength in this area to increase its overall competitiveness despite the pandemic?

New-York (# 2)

New York further improved its scores in economics and R&D, two areas it led for five consecutive years. However, like London, New York has also struggled with accessibility. In addition, in terms of livability, the city lost seven places to rank 40th and there was a noticeable drop in employment indicators such as “total unemployment rate” and “flexibility of working style” , further exacerbating long-standing weaknesses. In terms of the environment, New York rose in the rankings due to its strength in “air quality” and a higher score in “satisfaction with urban cleanliness”.

Tokyo (# 3)

Tokyo improved its livability rank from 12th to 9th, placing in the top 10 in four of the top five areas except environment. A significant improvement in ‘work style flexibility’ from 41st last year to 2nd this year significantly increased Tokyo’s overall score. While Tokyo continued to score high in “Number of retail stores” (3 rd) and “Number of restaurants” (4 th), it received a low score in “ICT literacy”, an area in which it must improve in order to move up in the Habitability ranking. Tokyo remains 4th in Economy, but the differences between Hong Kong (# 5) and Zurich (# 6) are almost the same as before. To maintain its current position, Tokyo will have to continue working on its competitiveness.

Paris (# 4)

Paris, one of the fastest growing cities this year, improved in four areas: Economy (13th), R&D (9th), Cultural interaction (2nd) and Habitability (2nd). In the economy, where Paris has been growing steadily since the GPCI-2018, “Enrichment of the workplace” the city rose to 5th place and in “GDP per capita” it rose to 3rd place. Under Cultural Interaction, its “Tourist Attractions” rating climbed to 2 nd. In terms of livability, it ranked first in “number of retail stores” and scored high in many other related indicators. With the Paris Olympics targeted to be a sustainable event, Paris hopes to improve in the environment, which has plummeted this time around.

Singapore (# 5)

Singapore only got half of its usual scores for “number of foreign visitors” in cultural interaction and “number of air passengers” in accessibility, similar to London in terms of impact significantly. negative due to COVID-19. But despite the stagnation of economic activities due to the pandemic, Singapore has also benefited from some positive changes, such as a much better “air quality” score in the environment, in fact achieving the biggest improvement among the 48 cities.

Main indicators affected by COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about positive changes, especially in the “style of work” and “the urban environment”. The impact is particularly evident in “Variety of options in the workplace”, where more than half of cities have seen an increase in the number of coworking facilities. Most cities also recorded a decrease in working hours measured in “Total working hours”, as well as higher scores in “Work style flexibility” according to a survey of working style flexibility. “Air quality”, which measures PM2.5 concentrations, has improved in about 80% of cities.

Meanwhile, the most significant negative impact has been in “travel restrictions”, where the ratings for “number of foreign visitors” and “number of air passengers” have both fallen, leading to numerous cancellations. cultural events and hotel closures. In terms of “Business Activity”, many companies in GPCI cities have experienced declines in sales and in the number of start-ups.

Major cities affected by COVID-19

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on major cities is highlighted by changes in various indicators from the previous year. The cities where COVID-19 had the strongest negative impact on total scores were Singapore, Berlin, Hong Kong, London, New York, Seoul, and Paris, while cities where COVID-19 had a positive impact on the total scores were Tokyo, Madrid, Shanghai and Amsterdam.

In Tokyo and Madrid, scores increased due to improvements in work environments, including “Total Working Hours” and “Workstyle Flexibility”. The increase in Tokyo’s score in the “number of cultural events” is largely attributed to the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics.

Singapore, Hong Kong and London, which traditionally have higher percentages of international travelers than domestic travelers, have been the hardest hit in terms of “travel restrictions”, especially declines in “number of air passengers”. New York and Berlin were negatively affected in “Work Style” as the pandemic raised unemployment rates and lowered “Total Unemployment Rate” scores. Singapore experienced the greatest improvement in air quality, which increased its “Urban Environment” score. London and Paris were negatively affected by the drop in their scores for the “500 best companies in the world for business activity”.

Brexit and changes in European cities

Since 2016, when the UK chose to leave the European Union in a referendum, follow-up changes have continued to occur in the European business environment and economy. We have reviewed post-referendum results over the past five years to quantify changes in the economy in London and the next five European cities since GPCI-2017. The changes over the five years show that other European cities are catching up with London, raising questions about London’s ability to continue to dominate its European rivals in economics.

The full press release can be viewed at the following link:

https://mori-m-foundation.or.jp/pdf/GPCI2021—release—en.pdf

See the source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211123005003/en/

CONTACT: Peter Dustan and Hiromi Jimbo, Institute for Urban Strategies, The Mori Memorial Foundation

Telephone: +81 (0) 3-6406-6800

Fax: +81 (0) 3-3578-7051

Email: [email protected]

Web: http://mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/International Media inquiries:

Reina Matsushita (+81 (0) 80 2375 0295), Mayuko Harada (+81 (0) 90 9006 4968) or Masashi Nonaka (+81 (0) 80 1037 7879)

Email: [email protected]

KEYWORD: SINGAPORE NORTH AMERICA ASIA PACIFIC JAPAN EUROPE UNITED STATES FRANCE UNITED KINGDOM NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: URBAN PLANNING CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE ENVIRONMENT

SOURCE: The Mori Memorial Foundation

Copyright Business Wire 2021.

PUB: 11/23/2021 10 p.m. / DISC: 11/23/2021 10:02 p.m.

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