NEW YORK CITY—New York's Midtown district landed on the No. 2 spot of a global ranking of cities that are attractive to global business in the long term.

The international study compared 21 leading global business districts on such factors as concentration of talent, business efficiency and connectivity.

Midtown doesn't have any close US competitors on the list, but it is close to being rivaled by Asian business districts, which are becoming increasingly competitive, according to the report. And all of the districts studied around the globe will need to adapt to COVID-19, the report also said.

Midtown is topped only by London and is followed by Tokyo's Marunouchi and Paris' La Défense districts.

The largest increases in the EY-ULI Index between 2017 and 2020 were by Asian business districts, with Beijing's Central Business District leading the charge.

Midtown should expect to be prepared to position itself against these up-and-coming districts.

"Among the big questions for business districts will be whether they are able to convince all their stakeholders that they are still special and unique places to operate," says Marc Lhermitte, partner at Ernst & Young Advisory, France in a prepared statement.

One factor decidedly in Midtown's favor is the ability to attract talent, which has grown in importance since the last time this study was made. The report "highlights how the ability to attract talent has become even more important when assessing the attractiveness of business districts in comparison to the 2017 edition", Lisette van Doorn, CEO of ULI Europe, says in prepared remarks. "Key elements to attract talent include quality of life, health and wellbeing and the availability of a live/work/play environment."

Post Covid-19, we expect these human elements to become even more important than they already are, she continued. "Business districts will have to adjust to a 'new normal' and those that do most successfully are expected to rise up the rankings in the future."

Instant Insights /

Midtown Ranks No. 2 in Long-Term Attractiveness for Global Business

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