Global & domestic reports reinforce city’s reputation as a great place to work and live: Sullivan
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan today welcomed the findings of two reports that will enhance Vancouver’s reputation as one of the best places in the world to work and live. The 2007 Cascadia Scorecard and 2007 MasterCard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index have recognized Vancouver as a global and domestic leader in urban planning and ease of doing business.
“The five goals we have established for Vancouver are focused on improving our quality of life,” said Mayor Sullivan. “Over the past 18 months we have introduced measures to reduce urban sprawl and improve access to municipal services for local businesses. These reports suggest we are making progress.”
The 2007 Cascadia Scorecard is prepared by the Seattle-based Sightline Institute to measure long-term progress on a number trends that help shape the future of the Pacific Northwest. It recognizes Vancouver for having the best smart-growth record among all the cities studied and a “model for success”.
In addition to recognizing Mayor Sullivan’s EcoDensity initiative, the Cascadia Scorecard concludes it will take 57 years for the Cascadian city average to match what Vancouver has already achieved to combat sprawl.
The 2007 MasterCard Worldwide Centres of Commerce Index identifies the world’s 50 leading cities and compares how they perform in critical functions that connect global markets and commerce. Vancouver has been ranked as the easiest place in the world for doing business.
In addition to measuring the general quality of life, this ranking also includes an assessment of the ease with which contracts are enforced, municipal infrastructure, traffic volumes, investor protection, quality of banking and other basic services including access to health care and public transportation.
Over the first half of his mandate, Mayor Sullivan has supported a number of measures to improve Vancouver’s economy. These include freezing business taxes, strategic infrastructure investments, development of “311 Access Vancouver” to provide 24/7 municipal service to businesses in multiple languages, initiated discussions on a regional business license for mobile businesses, development of an industrial lands strategy and one-stop registration for new business licenses.
