New York, Tokyo and London Top Savills Resilient Cities Index
26 March 2024
New York, Tokyo, London, Seoul, and Los Angeles are the world’s top five cities in Savills annual Resilient Cities Index. Singapore jumps six places from 2021, coming in at 6th from 12th in 2021. Other Asian cities have also gained ground, notably Tokyo (rising to 2nd) and Seoul (now 4th).
North American cities again dominate this year’s ranking with San Francisco, Boston, Toronto, Chicago and Atlanta also making the list. Paris is in 7th place. Toronto, Melbourne and Helsinki have risen by 16, 13 and 12 places respectively to make the top 20 this year.
A resilient city supports the wellbeing and success of its residents and workers against the backdrop of economic, social, environmental and technological change. They are attractive to investors and occupiers, particularly as investment and business expansion criteria encompasses a wider range of factors, including ESG.
In its 2024 Impacts programme, Savills examines 490 cities using metrics around four core areas: economic strength, knowledge economy and technology, ESG, and real estate investment.
Paul Tostevin, Head of Savills World Research and co-lead on the Impacts programme, says, “In 2021, world cities were still feeling the effects of the pandemic, including Covid restrictions, but we were just beginning to see a broader return to the city. The backdrop to the latest index is a challenging economic environment, limited real estate transactions, but global travel and migration back in full flow and ESG factors more important than ever.
“As a result, it’s clear that this year, mature, established cities in developed economies with security of title and good governance dominate the top of the rankings.”
In Singapore, an influx of people choosing to live and work in the city has helped in its climb. Meanwhile, real estate investment volumes have remained stable – no mean feat amid broader economic uncertainty and a global slowdown. A competitive tech scene also puts Singapore in good stead for the future: VC investment increased from $8.2bn in 2021 to $9.4bn in 2023, despite an overall worldwide fall in VC volumes.
Alan Cheong, Executive Director, Research & Consultancy, Savills Singapore comments, “In the coming decade, we can expect Singapore’s ranking to further improve when the URA Master Plan 2025, having included Urban Resilience as one of its four key themes, comes into law after public engagement.”
Jeremy Lake, Managing Director, Investment Sales & Capital Markets, Savills Singapore adds, “We are likely to see a higher volume of investment deals this year as buyers and sellers return to the market. Activity is expected across most asset classes with Singapore’s safe haven status, political stability and resilient economy attracting more investor interest.”
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