Whether we like to admit it or not, we do consider safety—or, at least, what counts to us as safety—when we travel, particularly when we’re traveling outside our home country. Fortunately for us, there’s a guide: The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by NEC Corporation, has put together the 2019 Safe Cities Index.
The report ranked 60 cities across 57 indicators including digital security, health security, infrastructure security, and personal security. The researchers supplemented their findings with research and in-depth interviews with experts in the field. In addition, the 2019 index took into account “urban resilience,” or the ability of a city to absorb and bounce back from shock, an increasingly important indicator in a world where climate change is very real and having very real impacts on cities across the world.
The researchers found, as they had in previous years, that higher income sets apart cities with better results; the Safe Cities Index scores correlate strongly with average income in the cities. “In part, this reflects the need to invest sometimes substantial amounts in certain areas essential to security, such as high-quality infrastructure or advanced health care systems,” the researchers wrote. “The more surprising contribution to this correlation is that, across our index, those cities with less wealth also tend to lack policy ambition.”
So, which cities are the safest?
The winner: Tokyo
Tokyo again came first overall, with a first-place score in digital security, second place in health security, fourth in infrastructure security, and fourth in personal security. That said, any safe city has to have contingency plans in place for a wide range of eventualities. Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike detailed the ways in which the city is prioritizing residents’ needs:
“Given that earthquakes are endemic to Japan and we are also witnessing major climate change around the world, it is utterly critical that Tokyo protects residents and the city from natural disasters,” she told Lonely Planet. “To do so, we have pursued a range of reforms, both on the infrastructure and the intangible side, expending a large budget. Tokyo’s having received high acclaim as a safe city results in part from the steady and consistent way we have pushed forward these initiatives over time.
The runners-up
Singapore was a close second, scoring #2 in digital security, first in infrastructure security, and first in personal security. Coming in third place was Osaka, Japan. “Tokyo, Singapore and Osaka are not safer because they happen to be in Asia, but because of the specific urban environments their residents and officials have built,” the report reads.
Amsterdam came in at #4, Sydney at #5, Toronto at #6, and Washington, D.C., came in at #7. Copenhagen and Seoul were tied at #8, and Melbourne in position 10.
A look at the top five cities in each pillar of the Safe Cities Index shows some similarities. In each area, the leading cities got the basics right—easy access to high-quality health care, dedicated cybersecurity teams, community-based police patrolling, and disaster continuity planning.
What matters most
Above all else, though, sits governmental transparency and accountability. A poorly governed city will almost never be resilient. “Although not able to offer a general prescription for resilience, our research points to a number of key elements, including joint planning by all relevant stakeholders, both governmental and non-governmental, to prepare for shocks; a new understanding of infrastructure that uses a city’s natural assets as tools to enhance its ability to absorb shocks; and the importance of promoting social connectedness among citizens in creating communities that will work together in a crisis,” the researchers concluded.
What do you think of the 2019 Safe Cities Index? Do you think some cities should have been in the top 10 that weren’t? How about the opposite: are there cities you think should not have appeared at the top of the pack? Let us know in the comments!
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