Erap sees survey on livable cities as a challenge

Mayor Joseph Estrada yesterday welcomed a survey conducted by Spain-based University of Navarra’s IESE Business School, which ranked Manila as 148th most livable or “smartest” city in the world.

“It’s a big challenge for me to work harder to improve the lives of Manileños,” Estrada said in a phone interview with

The STAR.

“I will do my best to bring back Manila as the country’s prime city,” he added.

Manila ranked 148th out of 180 cities rated by the Cities in Motion Index based on these parameters: governance, urban planning, public management, technology, environment, international impact, social cohesion, transportation, human capital and economy.

The survey was referring to the mega city of Metro Manila.

Estrada said he introduced housing projects and other programs that helped uplift the lives of the residents.

Manila ranked 174th in transportation, 160th in governance, 147th in environment, 145th in urban planning, 140th in social cohesion, 139th in human capital, 131st in economy, 103rd in technology.

The Philippines’ capital fared relatively better in the areas of public management (57th) and international impact (68th).

Manila lagged behind Singapore (22nd); Bangkok,Thailand (86th); Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (92nd) and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (146th).

Seoul led the ranking in the Asia Pacific region, followed by Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong and Taipei.

The top 10 livable cities are New York, London, Paris, Boston, San Francisco, Washington, Seoul, Tokyo, Berlin and Amsterdam.