Survey Rates Medellin and Santiago the Best Latin American Cities to Live in

The Colombian city of Medellin and Chile’s capital Santiago are the best Latin American cities to live in, according to the global survey by Spanish technology multinational Indra.

The best cities were selected based on quality of public services, security, and sustainable development.

The technology firm has praised Medellin’s use of smart technology to manage traffic and public transportation. This is the only city in Latin America where commuting times are below the global average.

The Colombian city earned ratings higher than or equal to the global average for all services, with sustainability recording the highest score (7.8) and security perception the lowest (6.1).

However, Indra has developed metro ticketing systems in cities throughout Latin America and its positive rankings for certain cities could be a ploy to pat its own back, cautions Colombia Reports, adding that Medellin lacks interactive maps to allow its residents to plan transport routes.

But Indra is not the only organization praising Medellin. In 2012, the Urban Land Institute, whose study was sponsored by the Citigroup and the Wall Street Journal, named Medellin the most innovative city in the world.

The Colombian city, once the nation’s murder capital, is trying to reduce carbon emissions and has launched a variety of community development projects for improving the social well-being of citizens.

At the lower end of the ranking are Mexico City, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Bogota, where the majority of services came in below the global average.

The Chilean capital of Santiago has earned scores nearly one point above the global average in healthcare service quality, e-Governance and city cleaning. Sustainability was the only area where it was below the global average.

The study polled more than 2,000 people across 234 cities and 32 countries. Participants were asked how long they spent commuting to work, their perception of security in their cities, the response to emergencies, quality of healthcare service and cleanliness.