City of Manila ranks 51st among 60 in Safe Cities Index 2021

Jones Bridge in the heart of the city of Manila. Photo from Manila City Mayor Isko Moreno

MANILA, Philippines — The coronavirus pandemic has placed the city of Manila nearly on the bottom rung among 60 cities in terms of health and environmental security, among others, based on the Safe Cities Index 2021.

The index, prepared by The Economist Intelligence Unit, released its ranking on Monday covering 60 major urban areas around the world, with focus on the COVID-19 pandemic that has shown the “need for a more holistic approach to health and security and its closer integration into urban resilience planning.”

Based on the index, Manila has an average of 52.5 points in the following pillars: 52.9 points on infrastructure; 47.4 points in digital security; 46.4 points in personal; 49.9 points in health; and 65.9 points in environmental security.

The report said that digital security at the city level often does not meet the current demand and “insecurity will multiply as urban areas increasingly pursue city ambitions.”

It further stated: “Although our index data show little change in various infrastructure security metrics, experts report that COVID-19 has brought this field to a fundamental inflection point.”

“Personal security is a matter of social capital and co-creation,” it added.

On the environment, most cities have strong policies, “but now must deliver results.”

The cities that topped the first five places are: Copenhagen, Denmark with 82.4 points; Toronto, Canada with 82.2 points; Singapore City, Singapore with 80.7 points; Sydney, Asutralia with 80.1 points; and Tokyo, Japan with 80 points.

Manila’s ranking is just a few points above those of the cities of Yangon, Myanmar with 39.5 points; Karachi, Pakistan with 39.7 points; Caracas, Venezuela with 40.5 points; Cairo, Egypt with 43.7 points; and Lagos, Nigeria with 45 points.

It wasn’t clear in the report how the cities were chosen to make up its list of safest cities.

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EDV