Soon, more than two thirds of all human beings on the planet will live in cities, and the number of increasingly mobile people who shuttle effortlessly between major cities is constantly growing. Every year, various city rankings choose the "top ten" cities in the world. But what makes a city livable? The familiar rankings offer a very unsatisfactory answer to this question. Their economically oriented, quantitative criteria are often taken out of context and presented as universally desirable, and as the sole determining factors in evaluating quality of life. But personal experience is much more multilayered than this. The authors began by sutdying established city rankings, then analyzed scenes from everyday urban life and developed criteria that make it possible to rationally examine urban quality of life from "softer" and more emotional perspectives. The result is fifty criteria and a questionnaire that invites the reader to actively reflect on his or her own personal criteria for urban quality of life. Essays by the researchers illuminate the scientific background of the study. AUTHOR: Ruedi Baur, Graphic Designer, Director Design2context, Zurich Carmen Gasser Derungs, Interior and exhibition designer, since 2008 Design reserach at Design2context Andrea Gmünder, Graphic designer, since 2008 Project director at Lämmlerhettler, Zurich Martin Jann, CEO Institut for Urban Design (Kees Christiaanse) ETH Zurich Philipp Krass, City and regional planer, Uni Karlsruhe Trond Maag, civil engineer, since 2008 MA in Urbansim, The Oslo School of Architecture and Design
