Dubai Wins a Top Spot on Most Dynamic Cities List

Dubai is one of the world’s most dynamic cities. A recent report by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) ranked the cities that have registered the biggest socio-economic and commercial real estate momentum over the past one year. According to it, Dubai is world’s third most vibrant city.

JLL’s report is entitled City Momentum Index (CMI) and it examines various factors that can drive a city’s growth and development. The research has placed San Francisco at the leading position. Although JLL states that the city has “soft” global influence and power, it also explains that takes the top spot because of reputation for innovation. San Francisco’s Bay Area is referred to as one of the world’s most tech-heavy places. Right after the U.S. city is London. The report shares that the U.K. capital continues to enjoy the fruits of the 2012 London Olympics. In addition to that, the city has registered increasing levels of real estate investment from overseas.
As it was already mentioned, Dubai comes third in this list. In its research, JLL writes that the city stand out with its global connectivity and regional service hub. However, it also points out that the rates of Dubai’s growth are impressive, yet fragile too. Nevertheless, from JLL express their belief that the emirate will improve its confidence after the Expo 2020 win.

Dubai is also listed among the most “elite”cities. These are the locations which saw vibrant property investment activity in 2013. Here the City of Gold ranks third after San Francisco (1) and London (2). In addition, Dubai is also called a resurgent city, since it is heavily preparing for Expo 2020.

The world’s biggest growth hotspots are Jakarta (12) and Lima (20). That is because they now witness a rising urban consumerism. Austin (7), on the other hand, is the most innovation-friendly small city. It is also among the most technology-rich cities on the globe along with other U.S. representatives, like San Francisco (1), San Jose (9), Boston (17), as well as Seattle (18).

The report has also found that the cities that are urbanizing with the most rapid speed are mainly located in China. That is probably why there are more than five Chinese cities in the CMI’s top 20 ranking. Those include Shanghai (4), Wuhan (5), Shenzhen (11) and Beijing (13).

Here is the full list of the world’s 20 most dynamic cities:

• San Francisco
• London
• Dubai
• Shanghai
• Wuhan
• New York
• Austin
• Hong Kong
• San Jose
• Singapore
• Shenzhen
• Jakarta
• Beijing
• Chengdu
• Los Angeles
• Tianjin
• Boston
• Seattle
• Tokyo
• Lima

European cities are nowhere to be seen on the list. The report explains that they have showed a lower momentum, when compared to emerging cities.  Berlin, Paris, Copenhagen and Amsterdam are the only cities on the Old Continent that managed to stand out from the rest. Copenhagen is one of Europe’s greenest cities, while Amsterdam, Berlin and Paris are the most innovative ones.