It’s easy to find scores of wealthy and successful individuals living prosperous lives in nearly every major city in the world — but that’s not enough to guarantee a stable and lasting metropolis.
A recent report from the IESE Business School argues that a truly strong and vibrant city requires a high standard of living for all its residents — including the working class, the elderly, and new immigrants, among others.
“True urban intelligence lies not only in the use of technology, but also in the integration of social cohesion as an essential pillar of [cities’] development,” the report reads. “Interaction between different social groups is essential to ensure urban sustainability. Social cohesion is reflected in an environment where residents and authorities share values such as social justice, the rule of law, and solidarity.”
To determine the overall social harmony of the 183 major cities included in the report, researchers analyzed performance across 30 metrics, including income distribution, racial tolerance, female safety, happiness, and health care quality.
Among the study’s most notable findings was that even the most vibrant American cities failed to perform well in these categories.
New York, for example, is the second-most vibrant city in the world, according to the IESE analysis. The Big Apple ranked in the top 10 in seven of the nine IESE categories: technology, human capital, economy, government, mobility and transportation, urban planning, international profile, and technology. For social cohesion, however, New York came in 127th place out of 183 cities.
Pascual Berrone, a professor and one of the study’s co-authors, argued that, in addition to the economic benefits of embracing diversity, cities also have a moral imperative to uplift their most marginalized residents.
“In the face of global conflicts, cities have a unique responsibility to go beyond traditional diplomacy and promote peace and stability through solidarity and active support for affected communities,” he wrote.
Click through to see the five most socially harmonious cities in the world.
