Miami is the eighth-best city in the U.S., according to a report released Wednesday.
Resonance Consultancy’s report was announced Wednesday at New York University during an awards celebration. It named the 50 best large American cities and the 50 best small American cities. To qualify as large, cities had to have populations larger than 1 million whereas small cities were comprised of less than 1 million people, according to the report.
Miami
The city’s winning combination of “an alchemy of immigrant hustle and hedonism creates a vibrant buzz like nowhere else,” according to the report. Miami ranked first in the people category for that same immigrant hustle which included foreign-born residents and languages spoken at home. Around 100 languages are spoken throughout the city, earning them their people category placement.
Miami also ranked second to San Diego in the parks and outdoor category, the report found. Its beautiful, natural scenery creates a perfect space for its residents to explore. If the outdoors isn’t enough, Miami ranked in the fifteenth spot in shopping among the whole country. The report forecasted an approval from fifteen next year because of a planned expansion of the Miami Design District.
“Mobile Millennials”
Findings were based on the actions of a group coined “mobile millennials” or Americans aged 20-36 who traveled within the last year. The report stated more than 1500 of this group were surveyed in the U.S. about what they consider as most important in choosing where to visit or live.
Factors considered in cities’ rankings were affordability of housing and job opportunities, quality of the natural and built environment, quality of key institutions and attractions, diversity of people, promotion via stories and recommendations online, economic prosperity, and quality of the arts, culture, restaurants and nightlife among other factors, equaling 27 total.
Six categories divided these considerations: place, product, programming, people, prosperity and promotion. The report explained for a city to outrank another, it needed to score high across all six of these categories which were comprised of the many factors.
Congratulations to Miami! However, city leaders need to find solutions to the continuing issue of driving out many citizens through lack of affordability of housing: while young internationals are coming into the city and enjoying all it can provide, there is a widening gap between the haves and havenots which in the long run will be to the detriment of the community. Let’s hope that a solution can be reached before it is too late.