New York been ranked as the top city in fDi Magazine's first ‘American Cities of the Future’ ranking. The city also claimed top position in the sub-category ‘North American City of the Future’ for the second year running, with Chilean capital Santiago being awarded the ‘Latin American City of the Future’.

Cities based in the US and Canada dominated the overall American Cities of the Future rankings, with New York, Chicago and Houston claiming the top three positions. The new ranking combined fDi’s existing North American Cities of the Future ranking with a new Latin America ranking.

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New York shines again

The top three ‘North American Cities of the Future’ remained unchanged from the previous ranking, as New York, Chicago and Houston maintained first, second and third positions, respectively. New York topped many sub-categories, including economic potential, infrastructure and business friendliness. This success can be partly attributed to the large number of FDI projects into the city over the past decade.

Although Canadian cities Toronto and Montreal did not appear in the top 10 in the North American Cities of the Future ranking in 2009, both cities improved in 2011 to claim fourth and sixth place, respectively. Atlanta and Boston also re-entered the top 10, ranking fifth and seventh, respectively.

Santiago top in Latin America

Santiago was crowned fDi Magazine's first ‘Latin American City of the Future’. According to the fDi Markets database, which tracks crossborder greenfield investment, Santiago has attracted 84 FDI projects since 2003, with almost a fifth of these projects involving a capital investment of more than $100m.

Lima (Peru), Monterrey (Mexico), Bogotá (Colombia) and San José (Costa Rica) completed the top five Latin American Cities of the Future. Mexican cities made up four of the top 10 cities in the Latin America category, while the Colombian cities of Bogotá and Barranquilla also featured, ranking fourth and eighth, respectively.

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New York – Top Major City

fDiMagazine’s American Cities of the Future 2011/12 shortlists, which took more than six months to research and involved the data collection of more than 400 cities, ranked New York as the number one Major American City of the Future, closely followed by Chicago and Houston.

Due to the re-classification of city sizes, a number of cities moved from the large city into the major city category in the 2011 rankings. Austin, Texas, and San Jose, California, were two such cities which were re-classified yet still performed well in the major city category, claiming eighth and 10th position, respectively.

Although North American cities dominated many major city categories, São Paulo in Brazil and Buenos Aires in Argentina held their own, ranking second and fifth, respectively, in the economic potential category. São Paulo, Lima, and Buenos Aires ranked fourth, fifth and seventh, respectively, in the business friendliness category.

Watch the American Cities of the Future Rankings video

Pittsburgh – Top Large City

Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania climbed from ninth position in the 2009/10 ranking to be crowned as the number one Large American City of the Future 2011/12. The Canadian city of Halifax ranked second, followed closely by Charlotte, North Carolina.

Seattle ranked as the top large city in both the economic potential and infrastructure categories. fDi’s independent judging panel was impressed by the FDI strategy information submitted by Victoria, Canada, which resulted in the city claiming the top position in this category, followed by Charlotte and Pittsburgh.

Richmond, Virginia – Top Small City

Richmond in Virginia was awarded the Small American City of the Future, with Santa Clarita (California) and Columbia (South Carolina) ranking second and third, respectively. Pilar in Argentina, Potosi in Bolivia, and Comodoro Rivadavia in Argentina ranked as the top three small cities in the cost-effectiveness category. According to the judging panel, Huntsville (Alabama) and Richmond had the best FDI strategy amongst the small cities.

Greenville, South Carolina – Top Micro City

Greenville in South Carolina was again awarded the top Micro City of the Future 2010/11. The Canadian cities of Fredericton and Waterloo, Greenville (North Carolina) and Bismarck-Mandan (North Dakota) completed the top five Micro Cities of the Future. Canadian cities dominated the quality-of-life category, accounting for nine of the top 10 micro cities in this category, with North Vancouver coming out on top. The Costa Rican cities of Alajuela, Heredia and Santa Ana ranked as the top three most cost-effective micro cities in 2011.

Click on the link below for a PDF version of the complete results

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