Edinburgh named one of the world’s most innovative cities in major new study

Edinburgh has been named as one of the world’s top 50 most innovative cities in a new report.

Edinburgh was found to be a major hub of research and development activity. The city was also buoyed by an active technology community.

The Scottish capital was placed behind only the “golden triangle” of research university cities – London, Cambridge, and Oxford – in the UK and, globally, positioned ahead of the likes of Amsterdam, Brussels, and Oslo.

Property consultancy Knight Frank’s “active capital” study ranked 288 major cities across the world on 100 variables, including data related to strength of research outputs, economic prosperity, the ability to conduct business and quality of life.

Edinburgh was found to be a major hub of research and development activity. The city was also buoyed by an active technology community, with only Cambridge having more tech meet-ups per 100,000 population.

The capital was rated the second highest in the UK for quality of life and among the world’s top 50. Earlier this year Knight Frank’s Wealth Report also found Edinburgh to be among the top 20 major world cities for wellbeing.

Toby Withall, partner at Knight Frank Edinburgh, said: “Anyone who lives, works, or even has visited Edinburgh knows it has a huge amount to offer people both personally and professionally.

“The city has a long academic tradition and its research institutions have provided a great base for a thriving tech community that has grown exponentially over the past decade.

“That said, there are plenty of places where tech start-ups could choose to establish themselves; but what has continually set Edinburgh apart – particularly in recent years – is the quality of life its residents enjoy. In the post-Covid-19 world, we expect that to only become more prominent a theme.”

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