\n<\/em><\/p>\n
I have moved around a great deal in my life. I have been able to get to know different cities, countries, people and cultures. Contributing to these experiences were my family, my friends and obviously my employers, customers, cooperation partners and colleagues. And the opportunities they provided for joint success in work, design, planning and realisation, learning and living \u2026 fabulous.<\/p>\n
In terms of \u201cLife and Living\u201d I have now taken a few key personal decisions:<\/p>\n
What I like most of all is living in the heart of the city.<\/p>\n
I just love being in the \u201cthick of things\u201d. I love the variety. The colour. Obviously, cities are not always just beautiful. They also have areas that are off-beat, loud, dirty and dangerous. Cities show us opportunities. They offer different views. They are home to many very different people. This does me good and makes me happy.<\/p>\n
When it comes to key themes like the \u201ccity\u201d and \u201curban living\u201d I have, for a long time, been seeking conclusive\u00a0answers to the three following questions<\/strong> \u2013 also very much in terms of what contributes to the\u00a0pioneering success<\/strong> of\u00a0effective international location marketing<\/strong> and serious city marketing projects\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n Recently, a team from Cologne\u2019s renowned rheingold Institut<\/strong> comprehensively researched these three questions, in an exciting Europe-wide study commissioned by car manufacturer Daimler<\/strong>.<\/p>\n To form a picture here 100 inhabitants<\/strong> in 31 small + large European cities\u00a0<\/strong>were asked a long series of questions. These questions covered six areas<\/strong>. The answers had one goal: to provide an exact as possible snapshot of and insight into URBAN JOY<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The rheingold team polled a total of over 3,000 inhabitants<\/strong> from ten European countries<\/strong>. Based on interviews and surveys they drew up rankings of winning cities<\/strong> that make their inhabitants \u201cparticularly happy\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n In Italy, for example, people from Turin<\/strong>, Rome<\/strong>, Milan<\/strong> and Naples<\/strong> were asked about their city. In Germany it was inhabitants of Frankfurt<\/strong>, Berlin<\/strong>, Munich<\/strong>, Hamburg<\/strong> and Cologne<\/strong>. In Spain inhabitants of Valencia<\/strong>, Barcelona<\/strong>, Madrid<\/strong> and Seville<\/strong> voiced their opinions. In France citizens from Lyon<\/strong>, Paris, Bordeaux\u00a0<\/strong>and Marseille<\/strong> shared their personal views on their cities \u2026<\/p>\n The study gauged URBAN JOY<\/strong> on the basis of six factors<\/strong> which impact the joie de vivre of our cities<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cThe Big Picture\u201d<\/strong>, \u201cContrasting Diversity\u201d<\/strong>, \u201cThrilling Vibrancy<\/strong>\u201d, \u201cHomely Village Feel<\/strong>\u201d, \u201cComprehensive Infrastructure<\/strong>\u201d, \u201cConstant Reinvention<\/strong>\u201d.<\/p>\n These six areas gauge the level of our urban happiness in life <\/strong>\u2013 essentially the URBAN JOY INDEX<\/strong>. At the same time, we urban dwellers also perceive these six factors as daily challenges<\/strong>.<\/p>\n TRUE URBAN JOY<\/strong> is what we feel when we manage to successfully master<\/strong> these six areas in our daily lives<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cKey and important things are happening in politics, culture and society in my city.<\/strong>\u201d<\/p>\n Or, if we consider our city \u201cinternational\u201d and \u201cvaried\u201d enough<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The downsides of large cities<\/strong> are also taken into consideration in this URBAN JOY <\/strong>study \u2013such as issues as \u201crising rents\u201d<\/strong> or \u201chigh prices\u201d<\/strong>.<\/p>\n All these responses are then combined to calculate each city\u2019s individual URBAN JOY<\/strong> ranking \u2013 the URBAN JOY INDEX<\/strong>. Each city can achieve a maximum of 100 points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n From a German perspective the results are pleasing: according to the assessments, Germany achieves a top position among the ten European countries. All five German cities polled achieve high and middle rankings and together achieve an average of 75.16 points out of 100. Nevertheless, other countries obviously also boast places where you can have a \u201cmore than good life\u201d\u2026<\/p>\n There is a taillight. MARSEILLE. This French port unfortunately only achieves a 58 point rating in terms of URBAN JOY, putting it in last place among the 31 European cities. Almost one in two inhabitants does not want to \u201c\u2026stay living in MARSEILLE long term\u201d (44%). Also posting low ratings are questions like: \u201cI like living in my city and can\u2019t imagine living anywhere else\u201d (only 47%).\u201d Or: \u201cI am happy to live in my city\u201d (only 59%).<\/p>\n I admit, I have long been a fan of Italy. Which is why I am surprised that the two Italian metropolises of Milan and Naples rank badly in positions 29 and 30. Here the poor south of Italy is therefore not much behind the rich northern part of the country. In the URBAN JOY INDEX Naples amasses a total of 62 points. Only 64% of its polled inhabitants find NAPLES attractive. Nearly half of the polled inhabitants said they want to \u201cleave their city in the medium term\u201d. However, with its \u201calternative cultural scene\u201d NAPLES was able to score plus points with an 80% rating.<\/p>\n For 90% of its inhabitants MILAN is a \u201ckey centre for politics, culture and fashion\u201d. This figure is even higher than the ranking given by the inhabitants of the Italian capital of ROME. For 88% of MILAN\u2019s inhabitants their city is \u201cthe city of fashion and trends\u201d. However, over 81% find MILAN \u201cfar too expensive\u201d. Here you \u201calways need to fight to exist\u201d. And this makes Milan\u2019s inhabitants \u201cdissatisfied\u201d.<\/p>\n Surprisingly, BRUSSELS also gets a poor ranking \u2013 only 28th<\/sup> of the 31 European cities polled. At first sight this bad result is puzzling. On closer inspection things become clearer. Many BRUSSELS citizens are not at all impressed by the city\u2019s central role in EU politics. EU decisions may be taken in BRUSSELS but only 47% of its citizens agree with the statement: \u201cI feel part of a large whole\u201d. Only 70% of those polled believe: \u201cMy city is a place of important events in politics and culture\u201d.\u00a0 Many also perceive \u201cthe international reputation of their city\u201d to be \u201cvery low\u201d. Apparently, because in other countries it has now become normal to complain loudly and publically about the Belgian capital.<\/p>\n The five German cities polled for their URBAN JOY all rank highly. Which is why the overall German result is good.<\/p>\n Nevertheless\u2026 FRANKFURT (ranked 15th<\/sup>) and also BERLIN (13th<\/sup>) only rank in the middle ground compared with the rest of Europe. Most FRANKFURT locals say: \u201cMy city is rough and tough\u201d. Though 81% see \u201cgood career opportunities\u201d here. Many citizens also refer to \u201cthe international flair of their city\u201d. 89% of FRANKFURT\u2019s inhabitants believe: \u201cMy city is a cosmopolitan and globally respected metropolis.\u201d<\/p>\n Less BERLINERs think this. Only 84% say the same of their city. Almost all inhabitants of the capital are \u201csatisfied with the political and cultural offerings\u201d but only 60% see themselves \u201cas an active part of the capital scene\u201d. Some perceive it as a \u201cparallel world\u201d. Only 58% of BERLIN\u2019s citizens believe: \u201cI can pursue a career in my city\u201d.<\/p>\n In the three top spots \u2013 on the \u201cwinner\u2019s rostrum\u201d \u2013 are cities whose excellent results \u2013 with one exception \u2013 were also expected by the experts.<\/p>\n Joint 3RD<\/sup> PLACE \u2026 in Europe goes to the cities BARCELONA, MUNICH and COLOGNE. This trio share the excellent \u201cthird place\u201d. The locals of these three cities are extremely happy to live where they do and score high on the URBAN JOY stakes at 80 points, far above the European 74 point average.<\/p>\n IN 2ND<\/sup> PLACE \u2026 is HAMBURG. This German Hanseatic city boasts an URBAN JOY INDEX of 85 points. 95% of the HAMBURG inhabitants polled find their city \u201cvery attractive\u201d. 90% of its citizens say: \u201cI find it exciting that there are extremely different lifestyles, people and personalities in my city\u201d. In BERLIN, however, the figure was just 77%. 93% of HAMBURG\u2019s inhabitants are convinced: \u201cMy city offers a great variety of alternative scenes and sub-cultures\u201d. In the German capital only 87% of those polled confirm this statement.<\/p>\nWhat cities really make us happy?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Can you measure urban joy? <\/strong><\/h4>\n
What is my city\u2019s soul like?<\/strong><\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.frankmendel.de\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/02_Bild_848_398.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>For instance, in the \u201cBig Picture\u201d category we are asked as inhabitants whether we can confirm statements like \u2026<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a>LONDON. The capital of Great Britain. This key European metropolis also ranks well down the list at Number 26 with an URBAN JOY INDEX of just 70 points. Inhabitants of other British cities seem considerably happier and more satisfied in their cities. For instance, inhabitants of MANCHESTER and GLASGOW give their cities an URBAN JOY INDEX of 74 and 73 points respectively. While LONDONERs like their city\u2019s political and cultural offerings, 61% feel very unsafe due to crime levels. 92% of London\u2019s citizens complain: \u201cMy city has become extremely expensive\u201d and 79% believe: \u201cIn my city I cannot afford a flat.\u201d However, it is not just the extremely high rents that many find a burden but also the \u201canonymity\u201d of the big city. Almost half all LONDONERs polled said: \u201cI miss the sense of familiarity\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n