By SHILADITYA BISWAS

Melbourne might have lost top spot to Vienna as the World's Most Liveable City, but the change in status isn't important, experts say.

After seven years of top billing by The Economist Intelligence Unit, Melbourne slipped to second place, in the annual list released last week. 

Monash Business School deputy head of economics Dr Gennadi Kazakevitch said the difference between the top cities was virtually non-existent.

“In the top 10, the difference is minuscule. All the 10 cities are extremely liveable and attractive,” he said.

“I would say putting them in top 10 is the right thing, but the small differences in rating, to my mind, looks a bit arbitrary.”

Monash University Associate Professor of philosophy, history and International studies Seamus O’Hanlon said the survey’s aim was to help business leaders seize opportunities and provide assistance in making strategic decisions.

“In the last 30 years, Melbourne has emerged as one of the most multicultural cities of the world – way, way ahead of Vienna,” he said.

“In the post-industrial era, where we don’t make things, but design things, multiculturalism is the way to go because you get ideas and attitudes from all over the world, which is a positive thing.

“The nitty-gritty of the difference in the top 10 cities is not something that warrants a lengthy discussion.”

Melbourne was listed as popular for education, healthcare, cultural ambience, safety and security, but it was in the cultural sector where Melbourne surpassed Vienna by 2.3 per cent.

Both Vienna and Melbourne scored 100 per cent in the infrastructure index, but Dr Kazakevitch said that “both of (the countries) are not comparable”.

“Vienna is a compact high-rise city which is completely covered by public transport,” he said.

“Melbourne has more spread. We occupy far more space so public transport is less accessible in the suburbs.”

A/Prof O’Hanlon said the index of culture and environment was a completely abstract criterion.

He said quantifying the index and ranking cities based on it was bound to be subjective.

“To rank something, a value is assigned to things and that value is completely subjective, and after the values are added you get a ranking,” he said.

Stability, Healthcare, Culture and Environment, Education and Infrastructure are the five indices considered for the Economist's Intelligence Unit ranking.

Melbourne had a perfect score in education, healthcare and infrastructure, and topped the culture and environment index with a score of 98.6 per cent, but fell short in the stability index by 0.7 per cent, to Vienna.

Dr Gennadi said in spite of dropping to second place, the 2018 ranking was Melbourne’s highest score in eight years.

Despite Vienna performing relatively better in the last 12 months compared to Melbourne, Dr O’Hanlon said the list catered to the comfort of the business expats rather than the average Melburnian.

“You’d work in the city centre; you’d live in an arc of suburbs, maybe within 10km. For the vast majority of Melburnians, what the expats are interested in have nothing to do with us.”