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New York Crowned 'Most Competitive' City

By Jill Colvin | March 12, 2012 4:09pm
Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Leo Abruzzese to announce the Economist Intelligence Unit's findings.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg joined Leo Abruzzese to announce the Economist Intelligence Unit's findings.
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DNAinfo/Jill Colvin

UPPER EAST SIDE — As if New Yorkers needed another reason to brag.

The Big Apple is officially the most competitive city on earth, beating out other cosmopolitan cities including London, Paris and Singapore, according to new rankings released Monday by Economist Magazine.

The Economist Intelligence Unit Report based its ranking on cities' ability to attract businesses, capital, talent and tourists, as well as on the quality of their education systems, crime levels and cultural offerings.

New York scored big for its increasingly diverse economy, which has become a hub — not only for finance — but for media, art, fashion and technology.

“New York doesn’t have one or two engines of growth, it has four or five,” said Leo Abruzzese, editorial director of the EIU, which pointed to the new Cornell University-Technion "genius school" as one example of smart growth.

New York is the most competitive city on the globe, according to a new study.
New York is the most competitive city on the globe, according to a new study.
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Economist Intelligence Unit

But the city also lost major points in the category of “environmental and natural hazards,” where it placed 59th overall because of the threat posed by rising sea levels and other vulnerabilities to natural disasters, like earthquakes.

Still, Mayor Michael Bloomberg hailed the results as proof the city is on the right track.

“Any study that turns out with things that we believe is obviously well done,” he joked, adding that the findings show just how far the city has come since 9/11, when few believed the economy would ever rebound.

“If you want to start a business or you want to create, test or market a new product, service or idea, this is the city where you have to be," he said.

London came in a close second in the survey, followed by Singapore and Paris and Hong Kong, which tied for fourth. Rounding out the top ten were: Tokyo, Zurich, Washington, D.C., Chicago and Boston.