Excellent higher education establishments and a strong health record have helped make London the second most sustainable city in the world, a new report has found, but high property prices are preventing the UK capital from reaching the top spot.

The self-proclaimed “green city” of Frankfurt leads the ranking, thanks to its climate protection initiatives and large city forest, while Copenhagen, Amsterdam and Rotterdam round out the top five .

Manchester takes the 14th spot, followed by Boston, the highest-ranking US city, and Birmingham enters at number 18.

The first Arcadis Sustainable Cities Index, which is compiled by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, assessed 50 global cities according to the three demands of People, Planet and Profit, evaluating how well each location caters to its population socially, environmentally and economically.

Keith Brooks, UK cities director at the design and consultancy firm Arcadis, called it “pleasing and perhaps surprising” to see UK cities placing so highly on the index.

“As we can see from the findings, there’s no such thing as a utopian city. It’s more a difficult balancing act between the three pillars – people, planet and profit – that reflect true sustainability,” he said. 

David Fuller's view

Any big cosmopolitan city is going to be expensive because it becomes a magnet for people from all over the world.  I have been to 42 of these 50 cities and enjoyed them all.  However, for culture, food and quality of life, my top three would be London, Paris and Sydney.