Phnom Penh Fares Poorly in Livability Index
Phnom Penh is one of the least-livable cities in the world, but has also seen relatively strong improvement in quality of life over the past five years, the Economist Intelligence Unit’s annual Global Livability Ranking released this month has found. The analysis of 140 cities, which considers factors of stability, health care, culture and environment, education and infrastructure, ranked the capital the world’s 126th most livable metropolis. With a score of 51.4 out of a possible 100, Phnom Penh fared somewhat better than last-place finishers Damascus and Dhaka, but also trailed far behind top-ranked Melbourne, Vienna and Vancouver. The report describes cities scoring between 50 and 60 as having “substantially constrained” livability, and suggests companies pay personnel working on such cities a 15 percent premium on wages. However, Phnom Penh’s score has improved 1.6 percent over the past five years; only nine other cities advanced further. This occurred despite a negative trend in average livability globally over the same time period, with only thirty cities becoming more livable since 2008. … Admittedly, Phnom Penh is straining to improve livability for a population that has doubled since 1998, and in some areas appears to be backtracking. It continues to lack a sewage treatment plant, a reliable electrical grid and a public transit system. There is also no major park in the city and pedestrians find it difficult to walk places due to a lack of passable sidewalks. …
David Kaner
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/news/phnom%E2%80%88penh-fares-poorly-in-livability-index-41445/
