The fastest-growing cities in the world
Cities are bouncing back from the financial crisis - particularly in developing countries. While around a fifth of the world's cities are still getting back on their feet, about half of all metropolitan regions have fully recovered from the financial crisis. And some are seeing unprecedented growth.
A 2015 Brookings Institute study rated cities on their pace of economic growth and employment growth. It found that around 80% of the fastest-growing cities were in developing areas - led by China and Turkey. Despite slowing growth in China, it accounted for more than half the top 30 fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the world - many of which benefited significantly from government investment in infrastructure.
The top five
5. Dubai in the United Arab Emirates
The city has eclipsed many in the region by moving beyond oil dependent industries to become a transport hub and tourist destination. It is currently developing the world's largest airport, and tourism makes up around three quarters of the city's GDP. It saw 4.5% growth - far and away the best of the region's cities.
2. Izmir, Istanbul and Bursa in Turkey
They have all seen about 3% growth in GDP and 6.5% increases in employment as Turkey's economy boomed. The region is taking advantage of its position between Europe and Asia to boost infrastructure investment.
1. Macao in China
It is known as the Monte Carlo of China, and its gambling industry is booming. Gambling is roughly half the city's industry, and the health of that industry is reflected in the fact that overall GDP rose 8%.
Not so great
The rest of the top 10 was dominated by Chinese cities, with Kunming 6th, Hangzhou 7th, Xiamen 8th and Fuzhou 10th. Turkey again took 9th place with Ankara. However, China's position in this list needs to be tempered by dramatic changes since the research was done. Overall the country has seen growth collapse and the stockmarket shaken to its core.
Macao has suffered more than most. The additional catalyst for collapse was the Chinese crackdown on corruption, and without pampered VIPs visiting the region, the industry has hit a very dry spell indeed. We will have to await the results from the next study to find out how dramatic the country's reversal of fortune has been.
How did the UK do?
In the UK, only London and Manchester made the top 60 fastest-growing (with London at 26 and Manchester at 60), although the authors pointed out that this was a positive improvement from a year earlier, and reflected better recovery from the financial crisis.
Elsewhere Edinburgh made number 71, Bristol 79th, Liverpool 81st, Nottingham and Derby 84th, Portsmouth and Southampton 91st, Birmingham 96th, Glasgow 101st, Leeds and Bradford 106th, Sheffield 112th, Newcastle 113th, and Cardiff and Newport 124th. However, London was the only UK city that was listed as having recovered from the economic crisis.
The UK did, however, avoid being named among the European cities that made appearances in the list of the slowest-growing economies. Naples was 4th slowest, as its economy actually shrank 0.7%. This was followed by Arnhem-Nijmegen in 6th place (with 0% growth), Rotterdam in 9th, Florence in 12th, Eindhoven-Den Bosch in 13th, Turin 18th and Helsinki 19th.
