Dubai adds yet another feather to its cap. According to the World’s Best Cities Report published by Resonance, a consultancy firm, Dubai is ranked amongst the top 10 cities in the world for livability, lovability, and prosperity. This makes living, working and prospering in the city better than San Francisco, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, Washington, Istanbul, Vienna, Toronto, Boston and even Zurich and Sydney.

It’s no wonder that Dubai has achieved this accolade. “Think of it, and the city’s probably done it,” the report, says. It is precisely this attitude that has catapulted the city to the sixth position along with London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Singapore, San Francisco, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Seoul. Dubai’s airport connectivity, shopping, sights and landmarks, walkability, restaurants, nightlife, park and recreation, museums, educational attainment, human capital, Fortune 500 Global Companies and startups are the main indexes considered for the ranking. Burj Khalifa, the innumerable malls, aquariums, indoor ski parks, fantasy theme parks and several other attractions have taken it to No. 8 in Attractions subcategory.

With its never say die attitude, the city has made breaking world records its second name. Standing at 150m tall and 95m wide, the Dubai Frame took the record home for the World’s biggest frame in 2019. The JumpX at Riverland Dubai – spanning a massive 13,584 square feet – set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Inflatable Bouncy Castle. The zip line across Dubai Marina, world’s longest urban zipline named XLine, is 170 metres gives riders a great view of the Dubai Marina as they zoom along. Making the impossible possible has become a habit as the city strives to become the highest, tallest, longest and fastest and more.

“Dubai is a city of superlatives: you can ride the elevator to the top of the world’s tallest building for a bird’s-eye view, and bet on the ponies at the world’s richest horse race,” the report said.

The report will help raise the bar even as Dubai looks at welcoming more traffic in terms of tourists and investors. The city is in the process.

Among the regional cities, Abu Dhabi is ranked second in the Arab world and 25th globally, followed by Riyadh (28), Doha (36), Kuwait (58) and Muscat (89).

The Resonance Consultancy ranks global cities, i.e., those with populations of more than one million, by using a combination of statistical performance and qualitative evaluations by locals and visitors in 24 areas grouped into six core categories: place, product, programming, prosperity, people and promotion.

Resonance, advisors in real estate, tourism and economic development, is a global consultancy of strategic and creative place makers.