New York and London remain the world’s most global cities, as they are the only cities to rank in the top 10 of both the Global Cities Index and the Global Cities Outlook according to the A.T. Kearney Global Cities 2016. 

 

The Global Cities 2016 includes two parts: the Global Cities Index and the Global Cities Outlook. This is the sixth edition of the Index, which was first launched in 2008. The Global Cities Index provides a compelling assessment of global engagement for 125 cities representing all continents and regions, measuring how globally engaged each city is across 27 metrics in five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement. This is the second year for the Outlook, which evaluates the potential of 125 cities based on the rate of change in 13 leading indicators spanning four dimensions: personal well-being, economics, innovation and governance. 

 

Mike Hales, A.T. Kearney partner and study co-leader, said, “Together, the Index and the Outlook provide a unique look at 125 of the world’s largest and most influential cities today and those primed to make an impact in the future. Our historical database provides businesses and cities with insights on how to make key investment decisions.” 

 

Findings From the Global Cities Index and Global Cities Outlook

For the first time since A.T. Kearney’s Global Cities Index began in 2008, London has overtaken New York to claim the top spot. This year London performed better in two of the five dimensions of the Index: cultural exchange and business activity. Even though New York maintained its top position in human capital, London closed the gap. London has also seen noticeable improvement in information exchange. 

 

For the second year in a row, San Francisco leads the Outlook, driven largely by its strength in innovation. The city’s private investments, a proxy for venture capital, are more than double those of the next highest grossing city, New York. While San Francisco remains atop the rankings, a few cities have closed the score gap, particularly New York, Boston and London. New York’s score improvements were driven by economics, Boston’s by innovation and London’s by governance.

 

The study identifies 15 cities ranked in the top 25 of the Index, indicating superior current performance, and in the top 25 of the Outlook, indicating future potential. These cities are the “Global Elite.” Beyond New York and London, the Global Elite includes Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto, San Francisco, Boston, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney and Melbourne. 

 

Andres Mendoza Pena, A.T. Kearney partner and co-author of the study, said, “Taken together, results from this year’s Index and Outlook can help businesses make key investment decisions such as where to place regional and global headquarters, as well as manufacturing and research hubs.”

 

“Perfect” and “Fastest” Cities

Despite their strong showing in the Index and the Outlook, the Global Elite do not have a lock on global leadership. Across the 27 metrics in the Index, there are 18 different cities with a perfect score. Across the 13 leading indicators in the Outlook, there are 20 different cities with the fastest improving score.

 

The 18 “perfect” cities span the world. European cities include London, Paris, Brussels, Geneva, Zurich, Stockholm, Moscow and St. Petersburg. Asian cities include Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore. American cities include New York, Boston and Washington, D.C. 

 

Similarly, the 20 “fastest” cities are found across the world. European leaders include Warsaw, Prague, Munich, Dublin, London, Geneva, Zurich and Brussels. Asian cities include Karachi, Sydney, Melbourne, Shenzhen and Beijing. Leaders from the Americas include Bogota, Houston, San Francisco, New York, Mexico City and Guadalajara. Nairobi, Africa, rounds out the 20 fastest cities.

 

Smart Cities

A.T. Kearney looked at a sample of the world’s recognized “smart cities” — cities that place technology at the core of their development strategy — and analyzed their performance in both the Index and Outlook. Of the 14 cities analyzed, all rank in the top quartile of cities measured on both the Index and Outlook. This list included leaders such as New York and London, as well as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Tokyo, Vancouver, Los Angeles and Melbourne. The performances of these cities spike against five dimensions — three in the Index and two in the Outlook (information exchange, human capital, business activity, governance and personal well-being). This correlation provides clues about the critical factors that a city may need to address to transform itself into a leading smart city of the future. 

 

To receive a copy of the Global Cities 2016 report, visit www.atkearney.com/research-studies/global-cities-index.