There is an interesting survey that is getting a fair bit of media attention these days – the Cities of the Future. It is a ranking that was released recently by Foreign Direct Investment Magazine. So, why is there such a buzz about it in our area? Toronto, Mississauga and Hamilton have all made the top 10 in their categories.
For an area that has suffered through a long recession, this is good news. It means a spotlight has been placed on the Golden Horseshoe for potential domestic and foreign investment. The listing by British-based FDI Magazine has local leaders rubbing their hands and mapping out new strategies to gain the attention of global companies looking for promising new locations for their operations in North America.
The magazine, which is owned by the prestigious Financial Times Group, targets financial leaders around the world who have been credited with creating more than three million jobs in 2008. With that kind of pedigree, it is easy to see why our local leaders are giddy with anticipation.
This is what they had to say. “Mississauga is well positioned to foster international business growth and expansion. [We] will continue to build Mississauga’s international profile as a sound business decision and return on investment,” Larry Petovello, the city’s director of economic development, said in a news release issued last week. “This clearly calls for a new strategy to sell the city. We have a lot of potential to grow here, so I’m going to sit down with our economic development staff to work out a strategy to unleash that potential,” Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina told local media.
“This is just the kind of information that companies go looking for when they’re trying to judge an area. They’re looking for anything that will help make that decision and an independent survey like this helps to make them more accepting of the information,” according to Demetrius Tsafaridis, chairman of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
The ranking examined 405 cities throughout North and South America. Cities could score a maximum of 10 points under each individual criterion, which were weighted by importance to give the overall category scores. The infrastructure category, for example, looked at such factors as number of airports, port size and environmental performance. Toronto was in the Major Cities category, which was topped by New York City, and Hamilton ranked ninth in the Large Cities category.
Situated next to these targeted centres, Oakville and Burlington are bound to gain from the international attention. When you have economic growth there is also a demand for housing. Burlington and Oakville are among the best places in Canada in which to live, so there is little question any good fortune that besets Hamilton and Mississauga will have a spill over effect.
Dan Cooper is an award-winning broker with Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd., Brokerage – the Number 1 Royal LePage Team for Canada in 2009. He can be reached at 905.338.3737, direct line at 905.849.3303 or through his innovative and interactive website at DanCooper.com. Be sure to catch the Dan Cooper Real Estate Series on DailyWebTV.com. For his free booklet How To Sell Your House For Top Dollar – Fast! or his Guide to Oakville Real Estate, please call The Dan Cooper Team.