{"id":114343,"date":"2017-04-07T11:43:58","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T16:43:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kingston12.net\/?p=114343"},"modified":"2017-04-07T11:43:58","modified_gmt":"2017-04-07T16:43:58","slug":"worlds-best-cities-to-live-study-neglect-impact-of-social-justice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2017\/04\/07\/worlds-best-cities-to-live-study-neglect-impact-of-social-justice\/","title":{"rendered":"Worlds \u201cBest Cities to live\u201d study Neglect Impact of Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Mercer\u2019s City Benchmark study for 2016 is out and as in previous years, seven of the top ten cities that offer the highest quality of life are in Europe. They range from Vienna, Austria at number 1 to Basel, Switzerland at number 10 (tied). The three outliers are Auckland, New Zealand (#3), Vancouver, Canada (#5) and Sydney, Australia (# 10 tied with Basel). The full list is available at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.imercer.com\/content\/mobility\/quality-of-living-city-rankings.html\">https:\/\/www.imercer.com\/content\/mobility\/quality-of-living-city-rankings.html<\/a>.<br \/>\nAccording to the Mercer study, Singapore was the top Asia-Pacific city (25), whereas Dhaka \u2013 the capital city of Bangladesh was the lowest ranked at 214. In North America, Vancouver, CA (5) was the highest ranked city. It was followed by two Canadian cities Toronto (16) and Ottawa (18). The highest ranked US city was San Francisco (29). Monterrey, Mexico (110) was the highest ranked city in Central America: whereas, Santiago, Chile (84) ranked highest in South America.<br \/>\nAmong Middle Eastern countries Dubai (74) and Abu Dhabi (79) ranked highest. Durban, South African (87) was the highest ranked African city. In the Caribbean, Pointe-a-Pitre, Guadelope (73) was highest ranked \u2013 followed by San Juan, Puerto Rico (75). Among the English speaking islands &#8211; Nassau, Bahamas (114) was at the top. Kingston, Jamaica came in at 153.<br \/>\nThe primary factors used to predict quality of life were (a) Connectivity to regional and global transportation networks; (b) Economic, social, cultural and environmental competitiveness; (c) Attractiveness to tourists, globally mobile talent and multinational companies seeking to invest; (d) The unique strengths of the city that can be leveraged to distinguish it from other cities: and (e) Overall city infrastructure. However, a most important measure which could have enhanced the validity of this study was not included. Social justice is the norm that describes the fair and just relationship between individuals and society. It is usually measured by the distribution of wealth, opportunities for personal activities and social privileges.\u00a0 These measured should be primary factors in any study that attempt to quantify the quality of life in any society.<br \/>\nIt is social justice that assigns rights and duties in institutions and enables people to receive the basic benefits and burdens of cooperation. These often include taxation, social security, health benefits, public institutions, trade unions and labor laws, public service and market regulations, and other essential government services that ensure the fair distribution of wealth and other opportunities. While the study provides a good snapshot of destination to expand business operations, its neglect of the vital importance of social justice as an indicator of quality of life makes it a poor gauge for individuals seek to move to an international city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mercer\u2019s City Benchmark study for 2016 is out and as in previous years, seven of the top ten cities that offer the highest quality of life are in Europe. They range from Vienna, Austria at number 1 to Basel, Switzerland at number 10 (tied). The three outliers are Auckland, New&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":114346,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[218,57,64,65,70,184,195,95,3,213,157],"tags":[371,445,505,523],"class_list":["post-114343","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-articles","category-california","category-caribbean","category-culture","category-europe","category-in-the-news","category-jamaica","category-lifestyle","category-south-america","category-travel","tag-french-caribbean","tag-mercer","tag-quality-of-life","tag-san-juan"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/vienna_austria-1.jpg","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":115377,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2025\/10\/11\/mental-health-challenges-in-the-caribbean\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":0},"title":"Mental Health Challenges in the Caribbean","author":"Sydney","date":"October 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Caribbean is facing a growing mental health crisis. In just three weeks, five people in Jamaica took their own lives \u2014 a tragic reminder of rising depression, anxiety, and hopelessness across the region. It\u2019s time to break the stigma, fund mental health care, and give our communities the support\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-Face-of-Mental-Health-2-scaled.jpg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":114240,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2016\/12\/06\/gone-too-soon-reggae-music-fraternity-losses-in-2016-part-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":1},"title":"Gone Too Soon: Reggae Music Fraternity Losses in 2016 Part II","author":"Sydney","date":"December 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Vandelin \u201cVonnie\u201d Mcgowan (Arscott), PhD, OD \u00a0 Vonnie McGown, died in Miramar, Florida on August 18, 2016. Vonnie\u2019s contribution to promoting Jamaican culture and advancing Jamaican causes in the USA, as well as her selfless work on behalf the less fortunate in Jamaica is now legendary. She is credited as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Artists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"vonnie-mcgowan","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Vonnie-McGowan-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":113765,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2016\/12\/03\/dubtonic-kru-the-dub-project-that-became-a-journey\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":2},"title":"DUBTONIC KRU: The Dub Project that Became a Journey","author":"Sydney","date":"December 3, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"When DUBTONIC KRU was awarded the BEST NEW BAND IN THE WORLD title for 2010-2011 ahead of several hundred of their contemporaries who entered the Global Battle of the Bands competition in Malaysia in February 2011, very few people outside Jamaica and Europe new the name \u2013 irrespective of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Artists&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Artists","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/artists\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"dubtonis-kru-2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Dubtonis-Kru-2-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":114294,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2017\/01\/26\/nambo-robinson-a-giant-who-played-with-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":3},"title":"Nambo Robinson: A Giant who played with Grace","author":"Sydney","date":"January 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The reggae music fraternity just lost another true musical genius. While he was mostly thought of as a session musician, Nambo Robinson was often part of the horn section that was responsible for making many reggae songs into mega hits. He was a veteran trombonist, all-round musician, vocalist, percussionist and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Articles&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":113514,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2015\/03\/14\/reggae-sumfest-set-for-july-12-18-2015\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":4},"title":"Reggae Sumfest Set for July 12 \u2013 18, 2015","author":"Sydney","date":"March 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Call it by either of its branded names \u201cThe Greatest Reggae Show on Earth\u201d or the \u201cWorld's best Promotion of Music as a Universal Force\u201d, it comes down to one thing \u2013 the best experience you will have at a music festival (including the latest trends of festivals on the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Events&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Events","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/2015-0712-cse-jm-reggae-sumfest-2015-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":113508,"url":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/2015\/03\/14\/giants-behind-the-music-chris-blackwell\/","url_meta":{"origin":114343,"position":5},"title":"Giants Behind the Music:  Chris Blackwell","author":"Sydney","date":"March 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Chris Blackwell (born Christopher Percy Gordon Blackwell) was born in Westminster, London. His father \u2013Joseph Blackwell was an Englishman who came to Jamaica as a major in the Jamaican Regiment of the British army. His mother \u2013 Blanche Lindo was a Jamaican Jew of Costa Rican descent. Chris came from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Caribbean Music&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Caribbean Music","link":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/category\/music\/caribbean-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Chris-Blackwell-574-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Chris-Blackwell-574-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/Chris-Blackwell-574-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114343","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=114343"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/114343\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/114346"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=114343"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=114343"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingston12.net\/2020\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=114343"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}