30 Most Dynamic Cities in the World

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Grading each metropolis by the growth of its income and employment, the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program found that the world's fastest recovering cities are overwhelmingly in three key areas: China and India, Southeast Asian islands, and Latin America. Only three cities from what economists consider the developed world appeared on the list: Montreal, Austin and Melbourne. There are no European cities in the top 30. There are no African cities outside Egypt in the top 50.

30 :: Hong Kong

One of the world's densest cities, Hong Kong is also the world's freest economy, according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It combines laissez faire government policies with an aggressive trade policy that has taken advantage of the strength of both China and southeast Asia, two of the fastest recovering regions in the world.

29 :: Cairo, Egypt

Through the recession, Cairo experienced surprising resilience in its tourism industry, which accounts for nearly a seventh of total employment. Like other cities on this list, Cairo's low cost of living and proximity to key trade routes in the developing world have helped it stay afloat.

28 :: Alexandria, Egypt

Anchored by its strong international universities and buoyed by Egypt's surprising business growth over the last decade, Alexandria also features a famous port which is the most important in the country, handling about three-quarters of the nation's trade.

27 :: Montreal, Canada

Canada was renowned for its stability through the Great Recession among developed countries, thanks to its lower debt levels and healthier banks. Montreal is the only Canadian city to make the cut. For that it can thank its strong trade sector, anchored in aerospace and electronics, and propelled by the largest inland port in the world.

26 :: Austin, Texas

There's only one American city on this list, and you shouldn't be surprised it's in Texas. Austin has benefited from a shallow recession and quick recovery throughout the Lone Star State, in addition to steady state money supporting government and education jobs in the state capital. A robust high-tech sector has also helped the city withstand the vicissitudes of the housing market and energy prices.

25 :: Sao Paulo, Brazil

Brazil is the B in the famous BRIC group (others: Russia, India, and China) that economists believe will provide the next engine of global economic growth. Sao Paulo is infamous for its crime rate, but the most populous city in the Americas is the largest city economy in Brazil. If Sao Paulo were a country, its economy would be larger than Egypt.

24 :: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Here's a fairly simple explanation for the success of Riyadh: As long as the world runs on oil, Saudi Arabia's capital will have revenue to plow into its public sector, infrastructure, and commercial development. But even with that said, Riyadh has demonstrated impressive income and employment growth, as the fastest rising city on this list.

23 :: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Malaysia's capital is a truly global metropolis, with a strong financial center at the heart of the super-charged southeast Asia markets and a service sector whose make-up resembles many Western cities. According to state records, it is the 5th most visited city in the world.

22 :: Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Countries like China and India need steel to build trains and buildings, and cities like Belo Horizonte with plush iron ore resources provide the necessary firepower for their development. Strong exports have trickled down to fertilize a growing service sector that is starting to grow major companies in the technology and telecom spheres.

21 :: Taipei, Taiwan

Taipei is a rich city getting richer. Not only does it own the second best GDP per capita of any Asian city besides Tokyo, but it also boasts one of the fastest growing incomes, as measured by GVP per capita, on our list. For that, it can thank a strong industrial base augmented by a world-class electronics sector, plus all the service industries you would expect in a world class city.

20 :: Jakarta, Indonesia

Where did Jakarta come from? One of the poorest performing cities through the 1990s and early 2000s, the capital of Indonesia suddenly boasted top ten income and employment growth during the Great Recession, as considerable investment from strong Asian and Oceanic countries helped the city continue its precipitous climb.

19 :: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Healthy demand for the city's manufacturing and agricultural products have helped Argentina's capital thrive while the developed world flirts with Argentina's erstwhile foe: debt default. It helps to have Brazil, one of the fastest growing large countries in the world, as a neighbor and key trading partner.

18 :: Tianjin, China

Directly administered by the Chinese central government, this city in northern China is dominated by manufacturing. But commodity extraction is playing an increasing role in the city's economy as China looks for raw materials to build new infrastructure and durable goods.

17 :: Chennai, India

With one of the highest qualities of life of any large Indian city, Chennai is home a third of India's automobile industry, in addition to a sizable electronic manufacturing sector and, of course, significant foreign outsourcing investment for software and IT.

16 :: Kolkata, India

Like other Indian cities on this list, Kolkata benefits from a strong outsourcing sector, which has, over the last few decades, helped the city recover from its painful 1980s.

15 :: Guadalajara, Mexico

The only city on this list from Mexico -- or all of central America -- uses strong international investment to power its industrial and high-tech sectors.

14 :: Melbourne, Australia

It's surprising that Melbourne is the only city from Australia on this list, considering the Aussies' rich commodity economy and the proximity of the the fast-growing East. But remember: it's all about trade. So, if you're going to pick one city, it might as well be the nation's busiest seaport.

13 :: Bangalore, India

Outsiders know Bangalore as a stereotypical destination for call-centers, but the city economy also revolves around government investment in research universities and aerospace labs. Known as the Silicon Valley of India, it makes room for a constellation of IT and biotech companies.

12 :: Mumbai, India

Yes, Indian cities dominate the heart of this list. The largest city in India, and by some measures the second largest in the world, is a cosmopolitan mixing pot of finance, commerce, retail, and entertainment.

11 :: Hyderabad, India

India's top-ranked city isn't even one of the country's five largest by economic size. What's its secret? A bustling IT sector powered by outsourcing has raised incomes and created enough city wealth to grow a sizable real estate and retail business.

10 :: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio might be known for its golden beaches, but it's the city's black gold economy that provided an economic foundation for the thriving, diverse city it has become. Today it is home to large mining/oil companies, the country's largest banks, and companies that form the backbone of the city's strong trade sector.

09 :: Manila, Philippines

Talk about relying on overseas capital: The Philippines depends so heavily on remittances from far-flung Filipino workers that a 7 percent boost in mailed cash this year dramatically improved the country's economic projections for 2010. Healthy tourism and demand for IT products helped Manila crack the top ten in Brookings' rankings for the first time.

08 :: Beijing, China

No major city added jobs at the same rate as Beijing during the recession, which is why Brookings named it the world's highest performing city during the downturn, and the fourth most dynamic city in the decade before the Great Recession. Fed with a steady diet of government investment, China's capital shows no signs of slowing down in the next few years.

07 :: Guangzhou, China

Guangzhou might not have the name recognition of Shanghai and Beijing, the cities before and after it on this list. But with 11 million people, it is the largest city in southern China. Like Shenzhen (#2 on the list) Guangzhou is the successful product of patient government investment, which has turned it into one of the country's most important hubs for manufacturing and shipping goods overseas.

06 :: Shanghai,China

The largest city in the largest country in the world, Shanghai is powered by a mosaic of industries, including the fastest growing stock exchange on earth and the world's second busiest port. While the Great Recession took down many developed metropolises, Shanghai continued to add jobs and boasted the fastest growing income (GVP per capita) of any major world city by a considerable margin.

05 :: Santiago, Chile

Like many prosperous and growing cities in South America, Santiago benefited from missing the credit crunch and banking instead on agriculture and commodities (especially copper) at a time when the world's two most populous countries are ravenously gobbling up durable consumer goods like stoves and microwaves.

04 :: Singapore

Most of the cities on this list are in developing countries undergoing modern industrial transformations. Singapore is already as modern as they get. One of the world's busiest port cities, it famously marries a conservative government with liberal and innovative economic policies to both encourage international business and vigorously reinvest it in infrastructure and education.

3 :: Lima, Peru

The top-ranked city in South America is, surprisingly, not in BRIC-leader Brazil, but the capital of its neighbor Peru. Lima benefits from rich commodity resources -- gold, copper, lead and zinc -- that are in high demand throughout the world, especially the United States and in large countries undergoing modernization, such as China. Lima has also benefited from its stable banking industry, which attracted considerable capital when world markets froze in the credit crunch that kicked off the financial crisis.

02 :: Shenzhen, China

Thirty years ago, Shenzhen was a small fishing village. After decades of successful government investment, it is not only a megatropolis of more than 13 million people, but also China's most famous manufacturing hub. The city has built on that foundation by transforming itself into a telecommunications giant and a major port for Chinese goods. Shenzhen is the only city to place in the top five in the Metro Monitor on three occasions: before, during, and after the recession.

01 :: Istanbul, Turkey

Surprised? So was the Brookings Institution. Despite getting walloped by the recession, Istanbul has enjoyed the highest employment growth of any major city in the world in the last two years. Although the city has grown at a breakneck pace through the end of 2009 and 2010, economists point out that the export-dependent trading center experiences both high highs and low lows.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2010/12/30-most-dynamic-cities-in-the-world/67234/

[The_Dude 1,142]

Montreal? Seriously? I wouldn't live there, or Riyadh if you paid me.

[Jenn! 918]

Only three cities from what economists consider the developed world appeared on the list

Of course when you are on the bottom you have more room to grow.

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Montreal? Seriously? I wouldn't live there, or Riyadh if you paid me.

Whether you'd live there or not isn't one of the factors Brookings used

Both my parents were born in a city on this list - Kolkata. I've been there a million times and would never consider living there either. It is a sh-it-hole.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Whether you'd live there or not isn't one of the factors Brookings used

Both my parents were born in a city on this list - Kolkata. I've been there a million times and would never consider living there either. It is a sh-it-hole.

The level of smug in Montreal is unreal. You'd think everyone there was riding their vespa while listening to their ipod and getting directions on an iPad.

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The level of smug in Montreal is unreal. You'd think everyone there was riding their vespa while listening to their ipod and getting directions on an iPad.

I've only been there once for two days. Everyone hates on America the minute they hear we're from there. It's boring.

My wife loved it though. Oooh look at the cobble stone streets. It's an old a s s street, BFD.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I've only been there once for two days. Everyone hates on America the minute they hear we're from there. It's boring.

My wife loved it though. Oooh look at the cobble stone streets. It's an old a s s street, BFD.

The actual city is beautiful. It was the people there that ruined it for me. It was as if they wanted so hard to be like the French that their anti-american hyperbole was so over the top.

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Yeah, they definitely overdo it. As for the city being beautiful, sure, but it's hardly unique in its beauty.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

3 brazil, 1 australia. i gotta go tell booyah about that.

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3 brazil, 1 australia. i gotta go tell booyah about that.

Read Jenn's post before you do that. She's right.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

Read Jenn's post before you do that. She's right.

that's still doesn't explain why only one city for australia is listed.

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Australia is developed. First world.

Brazil is not. More room to grow. More upside.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

Australia is developed. First world.

Brazil is not. More room to grow. More upside.

i see booyah got to you already

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i see booyah got to you already

When he's right, he's right.

[Ban Hammer 13,403]

When he's right, he's right.

:crying: :crying: aj's been co-opted!