Toronto is the 4th safest city in the world
By Lucas on Oct 13, 2017
The Economist released its Safe Cities Index 2017 and Toronto is number four on the list out of 60 cities around the world!
With a score of 87.36, Toronto is the highest ranked non-Asian city, behind Tokyo, Singapore, and Osaka. Toronto improved particularly (compared to 2015) in digital and health security.
Overall, Toronto placed 6th in digital security, 11th in health security, 5th in personal security, and 14th in infrastructure security.
Toronto’s infrastructure score may not be super impressive, but the Index does use our city as an example of how infrastructure improvements can impact climate change:
“Green infrastructure can even start to reverse the effects of climate change. A simulation study in Toronto, for example, predicted that if half the city’s roof surfaces were green, irrigated roofs, it would reduce temperatures across the entire city by 1-2 degrees Celsius.”
The Index explains that as cities grow, more security challenges surface, and for the most part, more developed cities are actually becoming less secure. Urban centres are also more likely to become targets of terrorist attacks.
“While cities generate economic activity, the security challenges they face expand and intensify as their populations rise,” says the report’s executive summary. “These include growing pressure on housing supply (prompting the spread of slums) and services such as healthcare, transport, and water and power infrastructure.”
Digital security has become a major issue. As technology advances and more private data passes from device to device, the less secure the systems become. With artificial intelligence being a hot topic, improving digital security is going to be a challenge for all developed cities.
Overall, Asian and European cities remain at the top (except for Toronto. San Francisco makes an appearance at number 15), while Middle Eastern and African cities are the least safe. Despite dominating the top of the list, Asia also has cities at the bottom.
So, if you’re looking for a safe place to live, Toronto is a safe bet!
