REUTERS/Euroluftbild.de
Cape Town, South Africa.
Cities might be humanity's greatest invention — if you listen to Harvard economist Ed Glaeser, author of "Triumph of the City."
"So much of what humankind has achieved over the past three millennia has come out of the remarkable collaborative creations that come out of cities," he said in an interview. "We are a social species. We come out of the womb with the ability to sop up information from people around us. It's almost our defining characteristic as creatures. And cities play to that strength."
Indeed, many modern metros are pushing the limits of industry, design, and urban planning, while rethinking the way people live and work.
With that in mind, we assembled a list of the 18 most innovative cities in the world, using a range of metrics from patents per capita to skyscraper height.
Singapore has the best infrastructure in the world, including an airport complete with a butterfly garden, pool, movie theaters, hotels, spas, showers, and of course a four-story slide.
Amsterdam is the most bike-friendly city in the world, with a full 38% of all trips in the city made by bicycle.
Bangalore, India, is known as the Silicon Valley of India, with a tech sector that brings in $17 billion in revenue a year. Venture capital has noticed, investing $300 million in venture funding in 2012.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
