This is the first time that NAFTA-region cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico have been compared with each other, based on size (major, large, small and micro), in fDi magazine’s “Cities of the Future” research. Greater Richmond was evaluated in the large-metro group (500,000 to two million in population).

The categories in which Greater Richmond placed among the top five include the following cities and rankings:

“Large Cities – Best Development and Investment Practices” — (1) Phoenix, (2) Austin, Texas, (3) Charlotte, (4) Greater Richmond, (5) Edmonton, Alberta.

“Large Cities – Best Human Resources” — (1) Philadelphia, (2) Austin, Texas, (3) Greater Richmond, (4) El Paso, Texas, (5) Charlotte.

“Large Cities – Quality of Life” — (1) Quebec, (2) Charlotte, (3) Philadelphia, (4) Orlando, (5) Greater Richmond.

Courtney Fingar, editor of fDi magazine, said: “fDi magazine’s ‘North American Cities of the Future 2007/08’ rankings reflect an independent panel of judges’ views. Nine judges reviewed nominations from 108 cities on more than 60 criteria designed to assess cities’ potential to attract new business investment projects.”

The rankings are announced in the magazine’s April/May issue, just off the press today. fDi judges looked at how a metro region has developed in the past two years and at plans that are in the works for the next two years.

“This is an important evaluation, not only as a third-party overview, but because it covers cities not just in the U.S., but throughout North America,” said Gregory H. Wingfield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership, Inc.