New York City beats Tokyo to become world's most innovative city

LONDON - New York took first place in a list of the world's most innovative cities on Tuesday, with the United States performing strongly for its embrace of smart technology and start-ups.

Japan's Tokyo - last year's winner - and the British capital London took second and third places in the Innovation Cities Index, with the US cities of Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston also making the top 10. Chicago entered the top five for the first time since the poll began in 2007, due to a burgeoning number of start-ups and top-ranked universities, the index found.

One of the big losers was the San Francisco Bay - home of the Silicon Valley headquarters of tech giants like Apple, Facebook and Google - which fell six places to ninth spot due to "tech controversies, homelessness and privacy issues", it said.

The index looked at more than 100 indicators including transport, infrastructure, citizen privacy, green architecture, property prices, start-up office spaces and internet users.


 

Vocabulary/Expressions:
1. - innovative - introducing new ideas; original and creative in thinking
2. - start-up - a newly established business
3. - burgeon - begin to grow
 

Questions:
1. Cite the city that took first place on the list of the world's most innovative cities.
2. Which city garnered the top place in the previous year?
3. Meanwhile, state one of the biggest losers. What is this place known for?
4. Why do you think Tokyo was not able to remain on top?
5. How can South Korean cities enter the list?