The world's most liveable cities

Every year Mercer produces a global ranking of the world's most liveable cities. The Mercer 2009 Quality of Living Survey suggests that I am fortune to live and work in the 12th ranked city in the world. Auckland comes in at 4th equal with Vancouver this year. Vienna, Austria topped this ranking.

Perhaps more interesting from a transport perspective is that Auckland ranks a not so impressive 43rd and Wellington ranks 47th for infrastructure. The top cities on this measure are Singapore and Munich, Germany, and having used their public transport systems I have to agree. A feature of the New Zealand Government's 2009 Budget is a substantial increase in infrastructure spending, including on roading.

The Forbes coverage of this year's results has caused me minor amusement. Choosing one photo for each of the 20 top cities, they somehow managed to feature for Wellington, New Zealand a photograph of Apsley House, the former home of the Duke of Wellington in London, England (ranked 38th for liveability)!