TripTalk: Bright City Lights - my comparison of bid citites (updated in Jan 2008)

Cities!! When a mass of humanity aggregates in one physical location, the area automatically becomes attractive to travellers and for business. Thus in the course of my work and fun, I have been drawn to many cities in different parts of India, the Americas, Europe and East Asia.

While in these cities, I have often stepped back and made mental notes of what I observed in these places. So finally I decided to put my thoughts on paper. Since there are so many places that I could write about, I decided to create an elimination criteria based on the population size of the city and the level of interaction that I have had with the city. Finally, in the typical consultant fashion, I decided to create an easy to understand chart of what impression I have of the cities that I selected for my comparative note.

Elimination criteria

To limit the number of cities that I could compare to a 1-page chart, I used the following criteria. I removed from my analysis: 

• Cities that had more than 1 million people but I had spent less than 72 hours in (Madras/Chennai, Kuala Lumpur, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Miami)

• Cities that had a population of less than 1 million though I had spent more than 72 hours in (historic cities of Avignon, Cusco, Edinburgh and Quebec City as well as beautiful San Francisco, once famous Detroit, lovely Boston, enchanting Colorado Springs, and several other US cities such as Washington DC, Baltimore, Seattle, Cleveland, Atlanta and Tampa)

• Cities that have more than 1 million people and I have stayed more than 72 hours in but have no global recognition (charming Ottawa, lovely San Diego, uninspiring Dallas and 13 Indian cities which are famous only regionally)

Comparison criteria

While the chart below has criteria that are mostly self-explanatory (multicultural, public transport, city skyline attractiveness etc, I need to explain the following criteria that I have used: 

a) Cool factor – there is something in the air in the city that is electrifying, and gives the city an edge, an oomph factor

b) Attitude of citizens to strangers – most people in big cities globally are too scared to make eye contact or talk with strangers or even acknowledge the existence of others that they don’t know; I therefore have used words to briefly describe the general (yes generalizations are dangerous but important for articles such as these) attitude of the citizens to complete strangers

c) “Feel safe at 11 PM” – how secure would I feel walking down an alley at 11 PM in any one of these cities

(Please note: 1 means my most favourite city and 12 means least favourite city on the specific criterion)

City	Cool Factor/ Pizzazz	Multi cultural	“Feel safe at 11 PM” factor	Public transport (access, speed, safety, comfort)	City skyline	Tourism (history, modern)	Sports, dining, cultural fun activities	Shopping (variety, affordability, convenience)
Bangalore	11	11	5	14	13	15	14	13
Bombay	7	10	14	7	5	11	13	9
Buenos Aires	4	8	7	9	8	13	4	7
Calcutta	14	14	4	8	14	14	9	14
Delhi	12	12	12	12	12	5	10	6
Hong Kong	5	9	9	5	1	7	11	1
Lima	15	15	10	15	15	12	15	15
LONDON	1	2	6	2	9	1	2	4
Mexico City	9	13	15	13	10	4	8	8
Montréal	8	6	3	10	11	6	6	11
New York (NY)	2	4	13	4	3	3	3	5
PARIS	3	3	8	3	7	2	1	3
SINGAPORE	13	7	1	1	6	8	12	2
Toronto	10	1	2	6	4	9	7	10
Vancouver	6	5	11	11	2	10	5	12

Comments on my rankings 

If in my list, I were to pick a mega city that is the most liveable (i.e. where one can work and live in), it would be Toronto. It is not the most beautiful city in the world (Vancouver, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Paris, NYC are way ahead), nor does it have too many tourist attractions and neither is it the commerce or fashion capital of the world. But it is the BEST place in terms of leading a daily peaceful existence – it has decent jobs, is well run, people have a heart, it is very comfortable (unlike Bombay, Hong Kong, London or New York) but above all it is the true multi-cultural capital of the world. No, not even New York or London has such peaceful co-existence amongst people of such diverse backgrounds. The UN should be headquartered here for this is the city that reflects the true spirit of the United Nations!! This is the big (million plus population) city which can live up to John Lennon’s words in his song “Imagine”.

While Toronto is the most liveable city in the world, the most “lively” city in the world is London. In my view, it is the capital of the world. Politically outspoken (unlike New York) and commercially vibrant, it is a world leader in fashion, art, music, theatre, pop-culture and now increasingly finance and trade. Home to people from every corner of the world, it exudes unparalleled energy and enthusiasm. It has a “cool” factor that is intrinsic to every element of the city be its buildings or its people.

While my ratings on all criteria can be understood (even if not agreed to) by the readers of this note, I need to discuss my rankings of the “Cool Factor” to provide a better context of my rankings.

Fast paced commerce, variety of co-existing cultures, avenues for fun but above all the attitude of the people determine the “cool factor/pizzazz”. This criteria gauges the energy level of the city – London, New York, Buenos Aires and Paris are in a class of their own. You can sense the bosom of these cities throb with excitement. While Hong Kong and Bombay are not as multi-cultural as Toronto (or even Vancouver and Montreal) and avenues for fun are below or at par with the other cities, fast paced commerce and the attitude of the people in these cities (sense of purpose, drive, dressing, interaction with others) give these two cities higher ratings in my charts than the three Canadian cities.  

Vancouver with its “push to the edge” culture and cool attitude of its people is way ahead of Montreal and Toronto despite its 6^th position on my ratings. Vancouver would have been perhaps higher in my list but for its languid commerce pulls it down. Toronto’s commerce and multi-culturalism save it from total disgrace on the “cool factor” otherwise its people are too work oriented and don’t know to celebrate which puts Montreal ahead of Toronto despite Montreal’s stunted economy. Bangalore with its willingness to try things new is ahead of Delhi in my ratings which suffers from its middle class values. Singapore is low on my rankings despite its booming economy and its city attractions because its people are simply too self-controlled - they don’t laugh loudly in public or celebrate spontaneously, play music or even dress fashionably (like Montreal, NYC, HK and Buenos Aires).  

Calcutta is at near bottom of my list because it is too spiritual to care about commerce, too inward looking to be multi-cultural and too lazy to exude any enthusiasm for anything other than politics. Lima is still growing up as a city and would have been a classic Latin American simple big town but for the number of people it draws in. It is the capital of a very simple and nice people, but they are not flashy or extrovert.

To round up my comments on my rankings, some brief words on the thoughts that went into my rankings:

· Shopping – what do most people do in a city when they visit one – shop, so this became an important criterion in my comparison. Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Paris, New York, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Delhi lead as far as variety and choices go; affordability is very high where the materials and labour cost are cheapest - Hong Kong, Singapore, Delhi, Bombay, Bangalore and Calcutta; convenience and comfort while shopping is highest in Singapore, London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Toronto, Vancouver, Buenos Aires, Mexico City and Montreal.

· Things to do – if you want to go one place and do skiing, mountaineering, running and sailing, then it is Vancouver where you should head to; outdoor sports activities in a low pollution environment can be enjoyed in Toronto, Singapore and Montreal too; fine dining experience is the best in Toronto, Montreal, New York, London, Paris, Delhi and Bombay; good tasty street food in Buenos Aires, Paris, Mexico City, Bombay, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Montreal, Vancouver, New York and Calcutta ; best desserts and breads are in Paris, Buenos Aires and Montreal; big theatre productions are best seen in London, New York or Paris; cultural programs are abundant in London, New York, Paris, Toronto and Calcutta; fun attractions are grand in Hong Kong and Singapore

· Tourist attractions - this is the reason people flock to see these cities. London, Mexico City and Paris have history and tradition and a flair for design and style so they rule the roost in this category and are miles ahead of any other city though New York with its magnificent museums, grand buildings and aggressive marketing of even ordinary attractions draws the crowds; citizens of Delhi may ignore their history but they have 2,000 years of it in all forms in every corner of the city and a very attractive city centre that merit it a top 5 ranking; Buenos Aires has a history but no one tells it well and they don’t talk about it much.

· City skylines – I photograph skylines incessantly and they inspire awe and excitement in me. Hong Kong’s skyline takes my breath away even when I see its photographs; nothing compares to the site of the building, hills and the sea on Hong Kong Island when seen from across at Tsim Shat Sui; Vancouver and San Francisco (eliminated because of low population) are the only two cities that have anything close to Hong Kong (perhaps Shanghai too but then I haven’t seen it as yet). New York ranks a respectable 3^rd because of the sheer density of its tall gleaming towers and the power they exude. The sight of Bombay’s Marine Drive is uplifting but absence of glass and steel make it a little less fun to stare at, where I give Toronto the edge. Paris and London lose out because they have no sea-front and no vantage point to look at their magnificent old buildings.

· Public transport – a great city in my opinion must have a great transport network. Modern, very comfortable, accessible in any part of town, extremely efficient and very quick, Singapore’s MRT reigns supreme. Paris, London and New York have huge reach; these 3 cities along with Hong Kong and Toronto are efficient and let the crowds move fast in relative comfort; Bombay has huge advantage due to its linear geography and so reach of its network is huge and it moves fast though comfort factor is abysmal due to the population pressure; Buenos Aires and Mexico City have a lot of means of public transport above and below the ground.

· “Feel safe at 11 PM”- Cities generally have wide disparities in incomes, are full of strangers and have a stinking underbelly. They generally are not as safe as smaller towns and definitely very unsafe compared to villages. Singapore and Toronto are run well, streets are well lit and take necessary precautions to make them feel safe; Montreal is a partying town and so alive that there is no quite place – not at 11 at least; Calcutta has a tradition of policing by society which makes it the safest place in India to be walking alone at 11 PM; it is a common sight to see people in Buenos Aires enjoying themselves till 4 in the morning but Mexico City (except for some parts) becomes very quite and the police don’t seem very friendly either. 

· Multicultural – this is a measure of the diversity of racial and cultural backgrounds of the citizens and the way they express themselves. With more than 50% “visible minorities” and representatives from 189 countries, it is definitely the most diverse city in the world. England and France due to their recently folded empires are huge magnets for their former colonized citizens. New York, Montreal and Vancouver have global representation of people but some groups dominate the city. It is only in London and Paris (not New York or Toronto) that you can see colourful and varied types of attire and head-dresses (from Africa, the Caribbean and Asia) worn even in the office hour traffic. Singapore and Hong Kong gain multicultural respectability due to their history and economic pursuits. Buenos Aires has had a steady flow of immigrants from all over Europe thus creating an interesting mix. All Indian cities are largely bereft of any significant numbers of non-Indians though the regional variations in India itself lend these cities a lot of colour. Bombay and Bangalore due to their economic importance and open acceptance of diversity are definitely most cosmopolitan of the cities in India.

Looking ahead

While I prefer natural settings for holidays over visiting cities, if life moves along as hoped for then I will definitely visit more cities. The top 5 cities that I must see before I die are Istanbul, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney and Prague.

There are only 7 other cities that fascinate me and I hope I can spend some quality time in, namely Cairo, Dubai, Jerusalem, Cape Town, Seoul, Berlin and Zurich.