As the future of the global economy increasingly shifts East and South, society needs a better lens to assess the world’s principal motors of growth—cities. This Dashboard tracks 18 metrics across 30 cities from 14 geographical regions, in order to serve as a tool that supports city and business leaders in pursuit of a more holistic approach to urban development.

How to use this Dashboard

Cities that strive to be sustainable, fair, happy, innovative, data-driven, and responsive are well-positioned to be the most attractive hubs for talent. The Dashboard features two kinds of indicators under 6 pillars: progress metrics that highlight positive change over time and performance metrics based on the last year of data for a given indicator. Cities have also been classified under 6 archetypes according to GDP per capita and population growth rate to offer relevant points of comparison for cities in different stages of development as users consider replicating case studies that show how cities or countries catalyzed progress.

Measuring six pillars and corresponding indicators

Fair

Measures the availability and affordability of common infrastructure and individual necessities across incomes and demographics, as well as the degree to which cities protect the rights of all of their citizens.

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Happy

This pillar considers elements of a city that foster belonging and well-being, and also tries to capture a sense of socioeconomic progression.

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Sustainable

This pillar measures sustainable practices within a city (public transportation usage, circularity, electricity production) and concrete outcomes (e.g. air pollution).

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Data-driven

Cities that add digital intelligence and technological infrastructure to existing urban systems make it possible to do more with less.

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Innovative

The greater density of people, ideas, and resources in cities have made them centers of innovation throughout history.

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Responsive

This pillar focuses on how well cities anticipate, understand, and respond to their citizens' needs.

UN Sustainable Develpment Goals

Across six city archetypes

Low GDP per capita / Slow population growth

Casablanca, Rio de Janeiro

Low GDP per capita / Rapid population growth

Cairo, Lagos, Mumbai, Nairobi

Emerging economy / Slow population growth

Buenos Aires, Mexico City, San Salvador

Emerging economy / Rapid population growth

Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Medellín, Manila

High GDP per capita / Slow population growth

Budapest, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Montreal, New York, Paris, Seoul, Tokyo, Warsaw

High GDP per capita / Rapid population growth

Auckland, London, Riyadh, Shanghai, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney

Key

Low GDP per capita
<$15,000

Emerging economy
$15,000 to $30,000

High GDP per capita
>$30,000

Rapid population growth
<1%

Slow population growth
>1%

Dynamic Cities Dashboard

Select a pillar

Sort by indicator

Average annual percentage change in rent-to-income ratio of an average 1-bedroom apartment (2018-2023*).
Source: Numbeo.

Case Studies

Filter by Pillar

Watch: Copenhagen's UN17 Village addresses all the SDGs

Watch: The 3D transformation of favelas in São Paulo

Learn about Singapore's progress as a City in Nature

Learn about India's 5G Leap

Watch: Smart Curbs in Paris, a data-driven public transportation project

Learn about how Tokyo tackled crime prevention with creativity

Learn about Sydney's strategy to increase tree cover

Learn about New Zealand's robust anti-corruption laws

Picture low-rent housing designed for veterans andstudents in New York state

Learn about New York City’s tech strategy

Learn about Poland's higher education reforms

Learn about Rio de Janeiro's srategy to improving the city’s water and clean energy supply

Learn about Budapest’s novel approach to affordable housing

Learn about Medellín's rise as a startup hub in Latin America

Listen: How Seoul leverages smart tech, data, and IoT

Methodology

We selected cities based on a 3-step process. We began with McKinsey & Company’s “City 600,” the 600 cities contributing the most to global economic growth, responsible for 66% of projected GDP growth between 2015 and 2025. Then we defined 14 geographic regions for diverse representation, and filtered the “City 600” based on availability of public data, relative economic importance (i.e., GDP), and distinct demographic profiles.

This set of 18 foundational metrics was crafted over a 3-year research period in collaboration with the Bloomberg New Economy Dynamic Cities Coalition and Knowledge Partner McKinsey & Company, after initially identifying dozens more potential metrics. The exploration for a single publicly available data source for a majority of cities filtered the metrics down across the 6-point framework. The goal for this set of metrics was to highlight what we believe are important elements of city life that should be measured and tracked over time in order to drive productive change. These metrics are in no way exhaustive but are instead a starting point to build from while acknowledging the challenges in new primary data collection. For a complete list of the rationale behind each pillar and metric, missing data points, and further methodological information, see this Fact Sheet.

How to use this Dashboard

Measuring six pillars and corresponding indicators

Fair

Happy

Sustainable

Data-driven

Innovative

Responsive

Across six city archetypes

Low GDP per capita / Slow population growth

Low GDP per capita / Rapid population growth

Emerging economy / Slow population growth

Emerging economy / Rapid population growth

High GDP per capita / Slow population growth

High GDP per capita / Rapid population growth

Key

Dynamic Cities Dashboard

Case Studies

Methodology

Indonesia

Jakarta

Rent Burden

-5.0%

Urban GDP per capita

$10,116

Population Growth

$10,116

Archetype

Emerging /Rapid