How Seoul beat Hong Kong in the latest sustainability index

By Property Report on February 12, 2015

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In a new report released this week by Amsterdam-based global design, engineering and management consulting firm Arcadis, poor work-life balance, serious air pollution and an overheated property market were the main factors why Hong Kong only achieved an eighth place ranking in the 2015 Sustainable Cities Index.

In comparison, the South Korean capital, which placed seventh overall, has put a premium on various aspects of the working and living environments to ensure that its citizens can have a balanced lifestyle. Seoul ranked second in this category, behind overall top-placer Frankfurt.

Despite the shortcomings, Hong Kong still ranked higher than Singapore – another overheated property market, which, similar to the Chinese city, has implemented in recent years curbing measures as part of its real estate price moderation policies.

More: Asia surpasses North America in CBRE’s sustainability survey

In total, 14 Asian cities appeared on this year’s sustainability index, which highlights the importance of creating a more liveable urban environment for its residents and visitors. Arcadis said that the inclusion of Seoul, Hong Kong and Singapore in the top ten was a sign that the region shows the “most divergence.”

Emerging markets mostly comprise the bottom part of the 50-city list, which shows that developing cities – including Jakarta, Mumbai and New Delhi – put a great value on economic sustainability, but need to make further improvements on people and environmental factors.

Frankfurt, which leads the global index, also placed first in the Planet and Profit categories, but only reached ninth place in the People factor, below Hong Kong (6), meaning that there is room for improvement even for the most sustainable city in the world.

“Our world is changing at a faster pace than ever before,” said John Batten, Arcadis’ global cities director. “Developing technology, population growth and the emergence of a truly global economy mean that the notion of national borders is becoming less relevant. Instead, we see the concept of the ‘global city’ taking hold.”

More: How sustainability will drive Asian markets to a greener future

He added: “the Sustainable Cities Index highlights the areas of opportunity for cities, to inform decision-making and hopefully make them more sustainable economically, environmentally and for the welfare of their inhabitants.”

Perhaps Frankfurt and Hong Kong – and also Seoul – could learn a thing or two from Rotterdam, the leader in work-life balance which ranked first in the People index, and shake up next year’s top ten.