It’s hard to believe, but the figures are clear. Cape Town (83rd) and Pretoria (104th) in South Africa are well ahead of London (131st) in the UK and Rome (133rd) in Italy in Numbeo’s latest quality of life rankings. According to the Serbian platform’s indices, these cosmopolitan cities score 152, 142, 128 and 127 points respectively. The experts took into account purchasing power, safety, health and well-being, cost of living, access to housing, mobility and transport.
Other criteria such as air quality, climate and environmental protection also played in favour of the two South African metropolises. In recent years, Cape Town has focused heavily on the green economy as a means of boosting its attractiveness and enhancing the well-being of its residents. One example is the construction of a biogas plant at the Vissershok landfill site. The plant is expected to recover energy from waste and reduce the city’s energy dependence on the national utility Eskom.
Pretoria’s quality of life is improving all the time, thanks to the development of Artificial Intelligence (AI), wastewater collection and the creation of green spaces to improve the quality of life both in the metropolis and in the suburbs. The authorities of this city of 2.8 million inhabitants are currently testing the “Mooikloof Mega City” initiative, which aims to build 50,000 sustainable flats using local materials and solar energy on the eastern outskirts of Pretoria. These eco-friendly homes will be sold for 600,000 South African rand (over $35,000) to local residents, who will receive a purchase subsidy of around 4% from the South African government. These measures are obviously attracting nationals and even expatriates in search of a better quality of life.
Quality of life at its lowest in Western metropolises?
The various initiatives in these two South African cities are not new, as they have already been implemented in London and Rome, which have long been global benchmarks for tourism and urban development. However, the quality of life there has declined considerably with the succession of crises (covid-19, social strikes, war in Ukraine, etc.) that have dealt a blow to the food and property purchasing power of thousands of Londoners and Romans.
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At the same time, this economic recession is hampering the implementation of innovative local environmental and climate policies. For example, some residents of the English capital are opposed to paying the tax on the most polluting vehicles, on the pretext that the cost of living has become “too high”. Cape Town and Pretoria are taking full advantage of these situations to improve their urban development and occupy top positions in the rankings of Numbeo and other international rating platforms.
Benoit-Ivan Wansi