Edmonton leads economic potential among North America's "large" cities, defined as having a population from 500,000 to 2 million.
http://www.fdimagazine.com/cp/13/Cit...%20release.doc
fDi magazine names North American Cities of the Future
fDi magazine’s April/May issue has named Chicago, Illinois as North America’s “Major City of the Future.” (See table below for full results.) The Financial Times publication on inward investment selected Chicago for its ambitious development plans, massive infrastructure investment, reasonable location costs and energetic regional economy.
fDi researchers took more than six months to select the “top ten” shortlists of cities of all sizes with the best strategies and resources for economic development. Courtney Fingar, editor of fDi magazine, said: “fDi magazine’s City of the Future rankings reflect an independent panel of judges’ views on each city according to seven selection factors.
As part of the selection process, nine judges reviewed nominations from 108 cities on more than 60 criteria designed to assess cities’ potential to attract business investment projects.”
Chicago ranked as the US City of the Future in 2005 and the city has developed a massive lead ahead of its nearest competitors in the past two years thanks to high levels of public and private investment and consistently strong economic indicators. As fDi went to press, Chicago was celebrating the United States Olympic Committee’s decision to support its bid for the 2016 summer games.
Meanwhile, Toronto, Ontario’s good affordable housing, low crime levels, strong health and education sectors and falling unemployment helped push Canada’s largest city into the runner’s up position. Toronto has a strong and innovative environmental programme and the city topped fDi’s shortlist with the best quality of life of any major city.
Guadalajara in the Mexican state of Jalisco was the highest ranking major Mexican city. Guadalajara had the second strongest economic potential of any major North American city and only Chicago scored more highly for sheer economic potential. Guadalajara’s youthful population, low unemployment and large number of recent foreign investment deals are good indicators that Mexico’s second largest city has a bright future.
fDi’s shortlists identify Juarez, Chihuahua as the top “large“ City of the Future. Although Juarez is only the eighth largest city in Mexico, fDi’s judges noted its growing importance as a regional industrial and logistics centre on the border between Mexico and the United States.
Windsor, Ontario ranks as North America’s leading “small” City of the Future, scoring well for business-friendly policies and a strong development programme that includes several large-scale projects involving public and private investment.
fDi’s “micro” City of the Future, Zapata, Texas, impressed the judges with its clear development strategy and success in attracting out of state investors. Zapata’s many development projects include a new border crossing into Mexico, major highway improvements, and a strategy for growth and investment that includes logistics, air transport, alternative energy, eco-tourism and security.
About fDi’s Cities of the Future shortlists
This is the first time that cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico have competed directly against one another in fDi’s Cities of the Future research. As well as naming North America’s top ten major Cities of the Future, the ranking lists the top ten large, small and micro cities.
The short-listed cities are those that scored most highly in the following areas:
• Economic potential
• Cost effectiveness
• Human resources
• Quality of life
• Infrastructure
• Business friendliness
• Development and investment promotion
fDi magazine’s "Locations of the Future" competition has been running for five years and covers almost every region across the world. The methodology is designed to identify those cities that have the basics in place to flourish in the next few years by attracting high levels of inward investment.
The shortlists are created by asking cities to provide data and qualitative information in much the same way investors approach locations during the screening process used to decide which are suitable for capital investment projects.
fDi’s Locations of the Future competition covers each region once every two years and is currently accepting entries from the following:
- Caribbean and Central American Countries of the Future
- Central American and Caribbean Special Economic Zones of the Future 2007/08
- African Countries of the Future
- African Special Economic Zones of the Future
For further information about the rankings please contact
charles.piggott@ft.com. For information about how fDi magazine can help promote your location, please contact
david.east@ft.com.
Methodology
In the second half of 2006, fDi magazine invited key cities across North America to answer more than 60 questions in the seven broad categories listed below. A total of 108 cities were considered by fDi’s panel of judges, which scored each city according the criteria listed below.
Cities were categorised by size so that cities across North America could compete against each other on a level basis:
• Major: population of over two million
• Large: 500,000 - 2 million
• Small: 100,000 - 500,000
• Micro: under 100,000
Cities scored up to a maximum of ten points for each criteria. The winners in each category are the cities that scored the most points in that category and the overall winner is the city that scored the most points across all seven categories.
Cities were scored by members of fDi’s editorial team and by independent guest judges (see judging panel below).
Don Holbrook, board member, International Economic Development Council in Washington, who is also writing a book on world class cities
Dan Malachuk, fDi’s US columnist and a strategist for the public and private sector
Todd Malan, president and chief executive officer of the Organization for International Investment in Washington
Daoud Awad, executive managing director, operational planning, New York Region Corporate Services for The Staubach Company
Miguel Noyola, partner in charge of the Mexico practice in Chicago and Washington offices of law firm Baker McKenzie
Steve Demmings, president, Site Selection Canada
fDi’s Locations of the Future competition covers each region once every two years. The next North American Cities of the Future competition will be published in 2009.
If you are interested in attending fDi’s presentation at BIO 2007, or working with fDi as it expands its North American coverage, please contact
david.east@ft.com.
Cities of the Future criteria
Economic potential
- Percentage of the population under 25
- Adult unemployment level in 2005
- Change in adult unemployment 2003 to 2005
- Average annual earnings of employees in 2005
- Average annual earnings growth 2004 to 2005
- Fiscal balance 2005
- Fiscal balance 2004
- FDI stock per capita at the city level
- FDI stock per capita at the state/province level
- Foreign direct investment in 2005
- Number of foreign investment deals signed in 2005
- Three most significant inward investment projects
Cost effectiveness
Town centre office rental costs
Out of town office rental costs
Factory/industrial premises rental costs
Warehouse rental costs
Town centre office purchase costs
Out of town office purchase costs
Factory/industrial premises purchase costs
Warehouse purchase costs
Secretarial salaries
Entry level manager salaries
Middle manager salaries
Senior manager salaries
Manual worker wages
Electricity tariffs for business/industrial users
Water tariffs for business/industrial users
Gas tariff for business/industrial users
Unleaded fuel costs
Diesel fuel costs
Human resources
- Number of university-level educational institutions in the city
- Number of university-level educational institutions in the state/province
- Leading university and research institutions in the city
- Leading university and research institutions in the state/province
- Number of student graduates in 2005
- Percentage of the city population with a university-level degree
- Number of “World top-200” universities
- Government-sponsored worker training programmes
Quality of life
- Best housing areas
- Average residential property purchase price
- Average residential rental costs
- Public and private healthcare facilities
- Leading schools
- Leading international schools
- Cultural and environmental heritage
- Incidents of crime per thousand people
Infrastructure
- Strategic transport links
- Mobile phone ownership (% of adult population)
- Internet connection speeds (maximum available bandwidth)
Business friendliness
- Basic level of corporate taxation
- Business-related taxes at the city level
- Business-related taxes at the state/province level
- Property transaction tax
- Number of out-of-state companies in the city
- Number of out-of-state companies in the state/province
- Number of jobs created by out of state investment in the past year
- Mandatory employer contributions, eg welfare taxes, healthcare benefits etc
FDI promotion strategy
- Sectors targeted for inward investment
- Financial support available to investors
- Non-financial investment support available to investors
- Major infrastructure and urban planning projects
- Environmental strategies and grants
NORTH AMERICAN CITIES OF THE FUTURE
Top ten major cities of the future
1 Chicago Illinois United States
2 Toronto Ontario Canada
3 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States
4 Atlanta Georgia United States
5 Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
6 Baltimore Maryland United States
7 Montreal Quebec Canada
8 Mexico City Federal District Mexico
9 Boston Massachusetts United States
10 Miami Florida United States
Major cities - best economic potential
1 Chicago Illinois United States
2 Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
3 Atlanta Georgia United States
4 Mexico City Federal District Mexico
5 Montreal Quebec Canada
Major cities - best development and investment promotion
1 Chicago Illinois United States
2 Boston Massachusetts United States
3 New York New York State United States
4 Toronto Ontario Canada
5 Seattle Washington State United States
Major cities - best human resources
1 Boston Massachusetts United States
2 New York New York State United States
3 Chicago Illinois United States
4 Atlanta Georgia United States
5 Toronto Ontario Canada
Major cities - best infrastructure
1 Chicago Illinois United States
2 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States
3 Atlanta Georgia United States
4 Toronto Ontario Canada
5= Dallas Texas United States
5= Miami Florida United States
Major cities - most business friendly
1 Atlanta Georgia United States
2 Baltimore Maryland United States
3 Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
4 New York New York State United States
5 Chicago Illinois United States
Major cities - most cost effective
1 Pittsburgh Pennsylvania United States
2 Chicago Illinois United States
3 Miami Florida United States
4 Mexico City Federal District Mexico
5 Guadalajara Jalisco Mexico
Major cities - quality of life
1 Toronto Ontario Canada
2 New York New York State United States
3 Chicago Illinois United States
4 Boston Massachusetts United States
5 Montreal Quebec Canada
Top ten large cities
1 Juarez Chihuahua Mexico
2 El Paso Texas United States
3 Columbus Ohio United States
4 Edmonton Alberta Canada
5 Charlotte North Carolina United States
6 Santiago de Queretaro Queretaro Mexico
7 Austin Texas United States
8 Philadelphia City Pennsylvania United States
9 Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas Mexico
10 Toledo Ohio United States
Large cities - best economic potential
1 Edmonton Alberta Canada
2 Mississauga Ontario Canada
3 Charlotte North Carolina United States
4 Tijuana Baja California Mexico
5 Calgary Alberta Canada
Large cities - best development and investment promotion
1 Phoenix Arizona United States
2 Austin Texas United States
3 Charlotte North Carolina United States
4 Richmond Virginia United States
5 Edmonton Alberta Canada
Large cities - best human resources
1 Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States
2 Austin Texas United States
3 Richmond Virginia United States
4 El Paso Texas United States
5 Charlotte North Carolina United States
Large cities - best infrastructure
1 Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States
2 Charleston South Carolina United States
3 Juarez Chihuahua Mexico
4 Phoenix Arizona United States
5 Las Vegas Nevada United States
Large cities - most business friendly
1 Toledo Ohio United States
2 Austin Texas United States
3 Orlando Florida United States
4 Columbus Ohio United States
5 Nashville Tennessee United States
Large cities - most cost effective
1 Juarez Chihuahua Mexico
2 El Paso Texas United States
3 Santiago de Queretaro Queretaro Mexico
4 Columbus Ohio United States
5 Nuevo Laredo Tamaulipas Mexico
Large cities - quality of life
1 Quebec Quebec Canada
2 Charlotte North Carolina United States
3 Philadelphia Pennsylvania United States
4 Orlando Florida United States
5 Richmond Virginia United States
Top ten small cities of the future
1 Windsor Ontario Canada
2 Huntsville Alabama United States
3 Albany New York United States
4 London Ontario Canada
5 Waterloo Ontario Canada
6 Colima Colima Mexico
7 Bloomington-Normal Illinois United States
8 Mobile Alabama United States
9 Chatham-Kent Ontario Canada
10 Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
Small cities - best economic potential
1 Saskatoon Saskatchewan Canada
2 Mobile Alabama United States
3 Halifax Nova Scotia Canada
4 Windsor Ontario Canada
5= Durango Durango Mexico
5= London Ontario Canada
Small cities - best development and investment promotion
1 Huntsville Alabama United States
2 Windsor Ontario Canada
3 Durango Durango Mexico
4 Sherbrooke Quebec Canada
5= St. Johns New Foundland and Labrador Canada
5= Waterloo Ontario Canada
Small cities - best human resources
1 Albany New York United States
2 Waterloo Ontario Canada
3 Greenville South Carolina United States
4 Plano Texas United States
5 Windsor Ontario Canada
Small cities - best infrastructure
1 Halifax Nova Scotia Canada
2 Gatineau Quebec Canada
3 Huntsville Alabama United States
4 Waterloo Ontario Canada
5= Matamoros Tamaulipas Mexico
5= Windsor Ontario Canada
Small cities - most business friendly
1 Mobile Alabama United States
2 Windsor Ontario Canada
3 Greenville South Carolina United States
4 Anchorage Alaska United States
5 Moncton New Brunswick Canada
Small cities - most cost effective
1 Colima Colima Mexico
2 Chatham-Kent Ontario Canada
3 London Ontario Canada
4 Barrie Ontario Canada
5 Amarillo Texas United States
Small cities - quality of life
1 Albany New York United States
2 Waterloo Ontario Canada
3 Huntsville Alabama United States
4 Windsor Ontario Canada
5 Lafayette Louisiana United States
Top ten micro cities of the future
1 Zapata Texas United States
2 Ennis Texas United States
3 Sarnia Ontario Canada
4 Yuma Arizona United States
5 Wilmington Delaware United States
6 Silverthorne Colorado United States
7 Surprise Arizona United States
8 Fredericton New Brunswick Canada
9 Plattsburgh New York United States
10 Poughkeepsie New York United States
Micro cities - best economic potential
1 Wilmington Delaware United States
2 Yuma Arizona United States
3 Ennis Texas United States
4 Danville Virginia United States
5 Zapata Texas United States
Micro cities - best development and investment promotion
1 Surprise Arizona United States
2 Zapata Texas United States
3 Sarnia Ontario Canada
4 Yuma Arizona United States
5= Campbell River British Columbia Canada
5= Ennis Texas United States
Micro cities - best human resources
1 Wilmington Delaware United States
2 Franklin Wisconsin United States
3 Plattsburgh New York United States
4 Fredericton New Brunswick Canada
5 Silverthorne Colorado United States
Micro cities - best infrastructure
1 Poughkeepsie New York United States
2 Surprise Arizona United States
3 Zapata Texas United States
4 Franklin Wisconsin United States
5 Wilmington Delaware United States
Micro cities - most business friendly
1 Zapata Texas United States
2 Blue Ash Ohio United States
3 Surprise Arizona United States
4 Ennis Texas United States
5 Wilmington Delaware United States
Micro cities - most cost effective
1 Ennis Texas United States
2 Sarnia Ontario Canada
3 Yuma Arizona United States
4 Plattsburgh New York United States
5 Zapata Texas United States
Micro cities - quality of life
1 Silverthorne Colorado United States
2 Campbell River British Columbia Canada
3 Surprise Arizona United States
4 Wilmington Delaware United States
5 Sarnia Ontario Canada
Edmonton ‘best economic potential’ — Financial Times
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