The Tel Aviv municipality is anxiously awaiting the results of an online poll
that could see it named the world’s “Most Innovative City,” in an online poll
being run by The Wall Street Journal.
Tel Aviv is pitted against world
economic capital New York City and Medellin, Colombia in the battle for the top
spot. If Tel Aviv wins, the online poll will join a string of similar Internet
accolades in the White City’s digital trophy case, including “Best Gay Travel
spot” in a 2011 poll by Gaytravel.com as well as a spot on Foreign Policy’s 2010
top 50 Global Cities list.
The competition tests a city’s capacity to
adapt and re-imagine itself and the municipality’s ability of forward thinking,
as well as cities’ integration with and influence on global markets, culture and
innovation, the Journal said.
Other cities that competed for the title
but did not make the final voting round include Chicago, Vancouver, Seattle, Sao
Paolo, Singapore and London.
The Journal touted Tel Aviv’s light rail
construction, begun in September 2011 and long from completion, as well as the
UNESCO honored White City, and cooperation between CA Technologies and Tel Aviv
University for a new multi-million dollars innovation center.
The TA City
Hall greeted the nomination with a healthy dollop of enthusiasm on Sunday,
sending out a press release in which Mayor Ron Huldai touting how “ever since 66
families founded Tel Aviv in the heart of a sandy wasteland, the city has been
an important and groundbreaking leader in innovation.”
Huldai also touted
what he said is Tel Aviv's status as “one of the biggest technology innovators
in the world” The announcement came a day before the start of the “Cities Summit
Tel Aviv”, a two-day conference hosting a number of civic leaders and
entrepreneurs from cities around the world.
While initial rounds split
the weight of the results between the public voting and selections made by the
Urban Land Institute (ULI), the current final round of voting will be based
solely on the public voting.
The winner will be announced on January 24,
2013 online and will be covered in the February 2013 issue of The Wall Street
Journal Magazine.