livable cities without property bubbles

Huffpost had a brief article (snagged from the Economist) about the most livable cities in the world. They noted that Damascus had dropped considerably in the rankings since the last survey. Most of the top ten cities are in Australia or Canada, which is interesting since both countries seem to be on a roller coaster incline of massive residential real estate bubbles. Vienna, which has the lovely building pictured above, was also on the list. No American cities were in the top ten. I guess because our property bubbles have burst, we aren't livable anymore.

In other news, rents in the greater Boston area have climbed 7% from last year (Boston Globe). This implies that we have a shortage of rental units, which would suggest a rather simple economic remedy--build more apartments. Such a simple solution runs into the arduous and lengthy permitting process that plagues the city.