Monday 24th October 2022 – LONDON – London has ranked first in Kearney’s annual Global Cities Outlook, for the fourth year running, and ranked second behind New York for the top cities of 2022.
The 2022 Global Cities Report produced by global management consulting partnership Kearney combines the Global Cities Index (GCI) and the Global Cities Outlook (GCO) and captures the exceptionally complex set of challenging economic conditions faced by cities and city leaders following the tentative recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
While the Index reflects cities’ current performance, the Outlook reveals which cities are primed to be the next generation of global hubs by assessing four metrics: personal wellbeing, economics, innovation, and governance.
Improvement in the city’s personal wellbeing, sporting events and culinary offerings, have pushed the UK capital to the top place for Cultural Experience for the first time, taking the lead in front of Paris, New York and Los Angeles. However, the report also reveals weaker-than-usual performances in Human Capital and Business Activity for London, as a result of the pandemic and Brexit, with the city coming to second and eighth place respectively. Decline in scores in those two GCI dimensions is consistent across other global cities and reflects disruptions of the global economy and still diminished flow of international travel.
Global Cities Index
London also retains its place as leader in the Global Cities Outlook, thanks to strong performance in personal wellbeing and innovation post-pandemic. The ranking features a much higher degree of flux with 51 cities lifting their ranking more than six places within the last year, including 17 in China alone. The Global Cities Index on the other hand, reinforced strength of the world’s leading global cities with the top four ranking remained unchanged from last year.
The report highlights the intense pressure that higher-than-expected inflation worldwide, ongoing economic and political conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and escalation of climate change-related events, have put on the world’s largest urban centres. Looking ahead, global cities will require adaptation and proactive change to maintain top rankings.
Global Cities Outlook
Andrew Stewart, Managing Partner UK & Ireland at Kearney said:
“While last year’s report focused on the tentative recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the 2022 Global Cities report highlights the harsh reality that we have had to contend with in recent months. From the conflict in Ukraine to the escalating effects of climate change, cities are by their very nature extremely vulnerable to these disruptions, and this is reflected in the overall decline in performance on the Index.
Despite that, London continues to confirm its well-established global city status and position as one of the world’s most dynamic and desirable cities. The UK capital has strived for innovation and personal wellbeing in the last year, gaining first spot for cultural experience, regardless of the challenges of the global pandemic and impacts of Brexit. In navigating the current and upcoming political and economic challenges however, city leaders will need to champion innovation to continue to offer unique value to businesses and communities. Despite the short-term challenges, we believe London remains in a prime position to do just that.”