Three Belgian cities have been included in the Canadian consultancy firm Resonance's ranking of the best cities in Europe for residents, commuters and visitors. Brussels scored the highest, due to its diverse population and airport connectivity.
The latest 'Best European Cities' ranking puts Brussels in 18th place, based on a combination of core statistics from more than 400 global cities and perceptions from residents and visitors.
"Understated Brussels boasts breathtaking architecture (especially for Art Nouveau aficionados). Consider Grand Place – surely among the most beautiful squares in the world," the report read. Resonance also praised the city's investment in public spaces, such as Gare Maritime, where a wide range of events and conferences are held, and Grand Hospice in the city centre.
Gare Maritime at Tour & Taxis in Brussels. Credit: Belga / Thierry Roge
For the ranking, the Canadian consultancy considered three key factors: Liveability, Lovability and Prosperity. According to the report's authors, a good score is closely related to how well a city manages to attract talent, business and tourists.
Aside from attractiveness, Brussels' top 20 position is due to its high score in prosperity. In this list, based on education level, employment rates, wealth distribution and GDP per capita, among others, it ranked seventh place, scoring better than Berlin and Vienna.
Loveable but not liveable
Many people (especially residents) have a love-hate relationship with Brussels, and this is reflected in the two other categories. For lovability – which includes the city's culture, nightlife, bars and restaurants, attractions, and online recommendations – Brussels ranks in 21st place.
However, in terms of liveability – the perceived quality of its natural and built environments – Brussels scores poorly, finishing in 70th place. Of all countries in the top 30, only Dublin and Copenhagen scored worse. For this factor, the authors looked at how easy it is to cycle in the city, the number of green spaces and electric car charging stations, the average rent and disposable household income.
Of all European cities, it ranked second for international citizenry, trailing only Luxembourg in the Foreign-Born Residents subcategory. Brussels also ranked seventh for connectivity. The authors praised Zaventem airport's many destinations and Brussels-Midi station, described as a hub for inter-city and overnight connections all over the continent.
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With its position in 18th place, Brussels is just below Stockholm (16) and Hamburg (17). The Belgian capital does, however, score better than Helsinki, Frankfurt and Copenhagen. It also significantly outperforms the two other Belgian cities in the ranking: Antwerp (73) and Ghent (90). All three Belgian cities received low liveability scores.
For the second year in a row, the best-ranking city is London, topping 12 out of 27 sub-categories, followed by Paris and Berlin. Resonance also published its annual 'World's Best Cities' ranking in October last year. Here, Brussels ranked 37th.
