Edmonton misses cut of world's most attractive cities

[Shodan]

Edmonton misses cut of world's most attractive cities
Vancouver and Toronto on magazine's top-30 list

Gary Lamphier
The Edmonton Journal

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

EDMONTON - Want to know where the best and brightest of today's well-educated young university grads are most likely to seek fame and fortune?

Sorry folks, it's not Edmonton, or even Calgary. But don't feel so bad. Ottawa and Montreal don't make the grade either. Ditto for such U.S. metropolises as Phoenix and Denver, or European cities like Paris and Rome.

For answers, check out the latest issue of Fast Company, a trendy New York-based business mag (the one with Al Gore on the cover), that tracks the world of high tech, social trends, venture capital and emerging industries.

Fast Company features what it calls 30 "Fast Cities" around the globe, each of which is undergoing profound change, thanks to a potent mix of economic opportunity, technological innovation, cultural richness, ethnic diversity and investment in physical, cultural and intellectual infrastructure.

If this sounds a lot like the formula for great cities laid out by author Richard Florida in his bestselling book, The Rise of the Creative Class, you're right.

That's because Fast Company relied partly on the work of Kevin Stolarick, Florida's numbers guru and an assistant prof at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, to help define what makes dynamic cities tick. And guess what? Good-paying job opportunities alone aren't enough.

Today's smart, ambitious young university grads also want to live in a city that turns them on creatively, esthetically, socially and culturally. And in a world where chronic labour shortages are becoming pervasive, many can go where they please.

So which cities make the cut?

Toronto and Vancouver are Canada's sole entries. Fast Company praises Toronto for its ethnic and cultural vitality, while describing Vancouver as the world's most livable city -- thanks to its progressive approach to urban density (something the anti-urbanists who routinely fight every highrise proposal in Edmonton would do well to consider).

In the U.S., large cities like Miami, Chicago, New York and San Francisco also get the nod. But so do a raft of smaller cities, including Portland, Austin, Tucson, Salt Lake City, Boise, and even tiny Fort Collins (pop: 276,000), Colorado.

There's a surprising mix of international cities on the list as well. Aside from some obvious picks -- Sydney, London, Barcelona, Shanghai and Seoul -- Fast Company gives its blessing to more obscure locales such as Curitiba, Brazil, and Tallinn, Estonia.

[Xelebes]

Meh, Montreal didn't even make it onto the list.

[IntotheWest]

I was agreeing with what the article was saying, until it mentioned Tucson, SLC, Boise, and Fort Collins.

It just lost all credibility...oh, unless maybe you're an American.

[Lyle]

This says it all: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/21/30782737_38830685e8.jpg?v=0

[newfangled]

I was agreeing with what the article was saying, until it mentioned Tucson, SLC, Boise, and Fort Collins.

It just lost all credibility...oh, unless maybe you're an American.

Anyone ever read Fast Company?

"Credibility" is not a word that can be applied to any of its articles. It's all very faddy, very fluffy, and very anecdotal. There's almost no substance to it, and any given article can easily have a million holes punched in it. It's some weird relic of the dotcom boom that forgot to die.

Unfortunately it is also a fairly influential magazine, and it's too bad that Edmonton or Calgary didn't make the list.

But next month they'll do a cover story on how rainbow coloured ID cards increase productivity, or the importance of low-reflectance blackberrys, or some other ridiculous management fad and it will all be forgotten.

[Greco Roman]

Why is this such a big deal? Who gives a rat's ass? It's just another frekin' list to build up certain cities, and essentially saying that the rest are garbage. These lists are phoney and plastic and shouldn't be taken seriously.

[Kevin_foster]

^ Agreed.

Good to see Canada on the list.

And, being an Edmonton Patriot that I am, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's in the top (list?) world's most attractive cities. It's very pretty, but can't compare with the likes of some of the costal & European cities.

Anywho.

[Riise]

For answers, check out the latest issue of Fast Company...

This is where I stopped reading. Utter bollocks!

[0773|=\]

I was agreeing with what the article was saying, until it mentioned Tucson, SLC, Boise, and Fort Collins.

It just lost all credibility...oh, unless maybe you're an American.

Recently someone added a ton of pictures to the City Photos section for Boise:
http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=134437
Take a look, I was actually quite surprised, that city looks more lively than I thought. Never been but now I'm interested to visit...

As for the rest of those US cities, the only others I've visited are Portland, Oregon, and Salt Lake City. Portland is not terribly progressive, but it's got a beautiful location. As for Salt Lake, while it's definitely more sprawled than Edmonton or Calgary, it's a very clean and attractive city (especially if you like skiing).

[IntotheWest]

^I wasn't necessarily saying there's anything wrong with those American cities...just that there's no way I can believe Boise, SLC, and Tuscon are attracting younger professionals compared to say, Calgary, Edm - or a variety of other cities.

I'd almost like to read the article to see how they came to that conclusion, but the comments so far about the magazine itself has changed my mind.

[canucklehead2]

I'm wondering if Edmonton was even considered for the article. After all that Quality of Life report by Mercer doesn't even bother to look at Edmonton and compare it to other cities...

[Brown Duckz]

just that there's no way I can believe Boise, SLC, and Tuscon are attracting younger professionals compared to say, Calgary, Edm - or a variety of other cities.

I'd almost like to read the article to see how they came to that conclusion,

Care to explain why you don't believe?

[IntotheWest]

^Well, again, I don't know all of the criteria involved for this article - hence, the point I made about reading the whole article to see how they came to that conclusion...what is happening in Tuscon, Boise, and SLC that is so special, to be as attractive as apparently some of the world's greatest cities.

Calgary has been ranked in the top ten best cities to live in, one of the cleanest cities in the world, and has some incredible world-class attractions as well...on top of the "boom" happening, high salaries, tons of jobs, and still the youngest population for major cities in Canada, I would argue it gets its fair share these days.

Again though, I never once said Calgary is "better than"...just hard to believe those mentioned cities would actually have anything over Calgary - or Edmonton.

I'm not going to waste my money on a magazine that obviously has been questioned already in this thread, so, if you care to enlighten me about what (according to this magazine) would make those places so much better - and place them in a list with Toronto, Vancouver, NY, Chicago, San Fran, Sydney, London, etc... - I'd gladly enjoy reading.

That's what these forums are for after all :)

[tuffyy]

Man oh man,Edmonton is a beautiful city.I just spent the day in the river valley and wow!!!Its like another world down there,quiet,wildlife,etc all pretty much in the heart of the city.People we need to get over all this stuff,its a joke and really doesnt matter if the people writing the articles have never been in Canada, let alone Edmonton.Edmonton is great and Calgary is great,this whole province is great!!!I am from Ontario and I love this place!Does that count???

[Coldrsx]

^yes, very much so...but it is about perception and in both edmonton and calgary's (to a much lessor degree) we are unknown in the world and thought of as either way out there or way up there.

[IntotheWest]

^Sure does.

I did find this article online...and the 30 "top" cities are listed in 9 categories, along with a few other interesting sidebar groupings.

Creative-Class Mecas
- Shanghai
- NY
- San Fran
- Buenos Aires

Global Villages
- Toronto
- Johannesburg
- Berlin

R&D clusters
- Fort Collins
- Seoul
- Raleigh-Durham

Green Leaders
- Chicago
- Stockholm
- Portland
- Vancouver

High-tech Hotspots
- Ho chi minh city
- Chandigahr
- Boise

Urban Innovators
- Curitiba
- SLC
- Tallinn

Culture Centers
- Barcelona
- Miami
- Dakar

Unexpected Oases
- Dubai
- Istanbul
- Sydney

Startup Hubs
- Austin
- Madison
- Tuscon
- London (England)


Some of the "Leading Indicators" they've listed for some of these are what I find questionable. But, there's no doubt that there is an American city slant to this article (assuming the magazine is American?).


Link: http://www.fastcompany.com/cities/2007/index.html

[newfangled]

^Well, again, I don't know all of the criteria involved for this article - hence, the point I made about reading the whole article to see how they came to that conclusion...what is happening in Tuscon, Boise, and SLC that is so special, to be as attractive as apparently some of the world's greatest cities.

One of Fast Company's editors probably got laid there. Or they have a dog named Tuscon. Or they just think that "Boise" sounds really creative.

Don't bother look for reason where there is none.

Fast Company is honestly the National Enquirer of business magazines.

[IntotheWest]

^yes, very much so...but it is about perception and in both edmonton and calgary's (to a much lessor degree) we are unknown in the world and thought of as either way out there or way up there.

Agreed, though I think Calgary (and possibly Edmonton?) is becoming better known...at least in the US, I haven't met anyone recently that didn't know Calgary - given the US slant on this article, I don't think it makes a big difference. Seems to try to make more people aware of Fort Collins and Boise :)

Outside of NA though, there are definitely folks that won't know if Calgary/Edmonton (one guy I met in San Fran who was from South Africa only knew of Calgary Castle in Scotland :))

[Coldrsx]

but then again...outside of paris, how many cities do you know in france, outside of london, how many cities do you know well, outside of vienna, outside of madrid, etc. etc. etc. etc.

edm and calgary are not on radar screens like the torontos are...even vancouver isnt widely known, well until 2010.

[Rusty van Reddick]

Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, and every other Canadian city wasn't listed because the FF authors didn't think of including them. End of story.

[tuffyy]

^cities in France I know of Nantes,Lyon,Nice,Bordeaux etc...I have been thats the only reason why I say that.Edmonton and Calgary are both very nice cities,each with its own unique set of benefits.I really dont get bothered by distasteful reviews.I still remember the best one yet,I cant remember the magazine but it said Toronto's population was 1 million!!!LOL Now there was a uprising!

[IntotheWest]

Yes, Cold, you have a point. And I think anyone that's travelled - especially overseas - may come across that.

I hate to admit ignorance of geography (since, I think I'm well informed in that subject), but when I went to Germany in my early 20's, I had no idea of Cologne - a city of well over a million back then (and a beautiful city).

At the same time though, there are plenty of cities about the same size that are well known - Zurich, Liverpool, Dublin, Glasgow, Dubai, Nice, etc....

While, at the other end are plenty of cities (such as those in China and India) which can be as large as TO that not too many know of.

I think its a matter of how/what they contribute to the world (in those I listed, I think that's obvious :)), and I guess I like to think that most Canadian cities have contributed on many fronts.

[ExcaliburKid]

When I was on a business seminar in California back in April, one of the women asked where we were from, and when I replied "Edmonton" she said, oh Pennsylvania? Enough said.

[Xelebes]

When I was on a business seminar in California back in April, one of the women asked where we were from, and when I replied "Edmonton" she said, oh Pennsylvania? Enough said.

She meant Kentucky. Edmonton, Kentucky. Silly woman doesn't know her geography!