Chester has been named the most beautiful city in the world, following a study by Online Mortgage Advisor.
For the purposes of the study, researchers scanned Google Street View for front-facing photos of hundreds of streets and more than 2,400 buildings in historical cities worldwide. They plotted points at the corners of each building to calculate the ‘proportion of the longest and shortest lengths of its dimensions’. Those proportions were then compared to the famous mathematical ‘golden ratio,’ beloved of classical architecture, to see how well they aligned.
The golden ratio (1:1.618) reflects a set of proportions that have intrigued and been studied by mathematicians since ancient times. The ratio is often found in the natural world, including in flowers and shells, and for reasons that cannot entirely be explained, humans find objects that unfold with this ratio inherently beautiful.
With 83.7% of its buildings matching with the ratio, Chester was ahead of Venice which was declared second place, London third, Belfast fourth, and Rome fifth.
Colin Potts, programme leader for international tourism management at Chester University’s Business School, and Chester’s former tourism manager, said: “To some Chester people this new accolade might come as a surprise but it really shouldn’t as the city’s built environment has been the main draw for millions of visitors, for hundreds of years.
“A huge visitor survey conducted over five years when I was Tourism Manager in the 2000s always had architecture, buildings, historic character and the walls at the top of the list of things that impressed people most. The only subject that rivalled these was walkability – visitors enjoying being able to see so many fabulous buildings so close together.”
Neuza Morais, visiting lecturer in interior design and creative practices in education, added that Chester’s buildings were one of many of the city’s attributes that deserved recognition.
She said: “It wasn’t a big surprise to see that Chester was considered the most beautiful city in the world according to the golden ratio, but a city can’t be seen nor assessed merely by its beauty. Beauty is good for tourism, which is a great consequence, but that is not what makes it live, evolve and thrive. A city is a living organism and Chester is much more than beautiful buildings, it is vibrant, creative, friendly, safe, and with a strong sense of community. Chester has a soul.
