United States Gets Top Spots on Australian Firm’s List of Most Innovative Cities

How future-ready is your city? Take a look at innovation firm 2thinknow’s annual Innovation Cities Index, which ranks metropolises across the globe on their innovativeness. The results of this year's index may surprise you—or dismay you, as the case may be.

The United States holds three of the rankings: Boston (number one), San Francisco (number two), and New York (number four). France and Canada also ranked commendably: Paris took the number three spot, and Lyon stood at number 8. They were the first and fifth, respectably, for the whole continent of Europe. Meanwhile, Canada’s capital city of Toronto finished at number 10.

The top-10 list runs as follows:

1) Boston
2) San Francisco
3) Paris
4) New York
5) Vienna
6) Amsterdam
7) Munich
8) Lyon
9) Copenhagen
10) Toronto

2thinknow, which incorporated in Australia in 2006 to advise cities on how to spur urban innovation, ranked 331 cities in all this year. The index authors tabulated their scores based on a range of 162 factors related to sustainability; transportation systems; employment opportunities; economic growth; frequency of patents; and the presence and quality of universities, arts and design centers, and start-up facilities; among other things. Boston won big because it is home to Harvard and MIT, it has a vibrant business sector, and it strongly supports start-ups and the arts.

The ranks count for more than just local bragging rights. If a city gets 2thinknow’s top plaudits for innovation, it’s also likely to get top plaudits from outside businesses and inventors who are looking for new cities in which to set up shop. They’ll move to the cities that are known to be innovation friendly. That’s the opinion not only of 2thinknow, but of Abby Rogers, a reporter for Canadian business newspaper Financial Post.

“If you're looking to innovate—in any of its many forms—you might want to move to these cities,” Rogers writes.

The stakes are high for regular city residents, too. As 2thinknow reminds us, cities now house more than 50% of the world’s population, and they will hold an even larger percentage before this century is out. Nearly every city on Earth will be pressed to offer the best possible job prospects, housing, and overall quality of life to ever-growing numbers of new residents. Those cities that are well-practiced at innovating and adapting will be the most successful at it.

“Innovation is measured to predict which cities will become winners in the next several years,” 2thinknow states.

Based on these measures, the United States in general is looking good. The index authors look forward to U.S. cities fostering progressively more and more innovation over the next five years, thanks to their having state-of-the-art infrastructure and solid investments in place.

“In 2011 the Index uniquely foresees stronger U.S. innovation performance. 2thinknow noted that across the USA, most major U.S. cities were likely to be globally competitive, by meeting mid-level benchmarks for innovation,” the authors wrote.