VANCOUVER - Vancouver has been knocked out of top spot as the world's most livable city, but some locals are scratching their heads over the reason for the demotion.
The Economist Intelligence Unit, a division of Britain's Economist magazine, says Vancouver has slipped to third place behind Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria because of a highway closure on Vancouver Island.
The Malahat Highway north of Victoria was closed for 22 hours in April after the crash of a fuel tanker truck.
Many Vancouverites are wondering why a highway closure on Vancouver Island -- about 60 kilometres away -- would affect the city's score.
But Jon Copestake of the Economist Intelligence Unit told Global TV the ranking reflects what he calls "regional" traffic issues.
The Economist says the Stanley Cup riot in Vancouver in June came too late to affect the city's ranking, but the city's future score could be affected by the violence.
Calgary came in fifth place behind Toronto.
Rated among the least liveable cities were Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire and Tehran, Iran.
Each city is ranked based on five categories: stability, health care, culture & environment, education and infrastructure.
While Calgary ranked well in every category, it had the lowest culture & environment rating among the top five cities at 89.1 compared with Vancouver with 100.
See the report below:
Worlds Most Livable Cities
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