Greatest Cities In The World

Barcelona is crowned the greatest city in the world according to Discovery Travel and Living Channel among 19 other cities. Countdownwise, here are those cities picked:
20. Tokyo 19. New Delhi 18. Prague 17. Copenhagen 16. Santiago 15. Mexico City 14. Lisbon 13. Cape Town 12. Berlin 11. Amsterdam 10. Istanbul 9. Stockholm 8. New Orleans 7. Dublin 6. Sydney 5. Rio 4. Paris 3. Rome 2. NYC 1. Barcelona

In my conclusion, these are what make the cities deserve the crown:

1. great cultures
Though I don't really understand why New Delhi is picked, for it's one of the dirtiest and most densely populated cities in the world, but come to think of females dressed in colorful saris or young men making chai at roadside stalls, then yes, those are unique sights, indeed. And it's undebatable that the true uniqueness of New Orleans - the center of Mardi Gras celebration in the US - lies in its one of the kind mix combo of French (Cajun), Creole, and African cultures. The majority of the population are Roman Catholic but they still believe in vampires and the mambo jumbo of vodoo.

2. great architectures, be it historical or modern
Istanbul is a great place where mosques' minarets harmoniously stand hand in hand with modern buildings. Or look at Rome - everywhere you go, each place simply has history.

3. great walking places
being able to walk freely and fearlessly is a practice of a human right. Cities that can provide its people with decent places to walk around, then yea, are just great.

4. great public places to wind up any time of the day
beaches in Sidney, Cape Town, and Rio where people go to relax at the end of the day are just so humane. Located in the middle of the busiest city in the world, Central Park of NYC, which is the biggest park in the world, is a perfect sanctuary for its people to keep their sanity. And those places are available for everyone - from the poorest to the richest - for free.

Jakarta is none of the above, of course. And it's plain to see because:

Well okay, it’s a melting pot of many cultures alright. Like the native Jakartans are actually a mixture of Chinese, Portuguese, Malay, and Arabic cultures which have slowly faded with time. Only few people are willing enough to go against the odds as having the awareness to preserve the culture. Historical buildings in Jakarta aren’t well preserved either. People preferred to destroy the old Chinese-Dutch-Portuguese houses in the old city to build modern shopping malls that now have turned to be nothing but shabby markets causing the worst traffic jams in the area. And the modern buildings are nothing to write home about too. So simply speaking, Jakarta has sort of lost its identity - it's neither cultured nor modern. Great walking places? If there are any, the pedestrian sides are usually used by street vendors or bikers to avoid getting stuck in crazy traffic jams, that each time people walking on the cobbled pavements have to choose between their lives or the bikers’ urge to have a faster way. Jakarta does have a beach at the northern part of the city, but people have to pay a quite amount of money to enter the site. The entrance fee gets even higher on weekends. Public parks? There are few, indeed, but they're located in very polluted and noisy areas that people prefer to wind up at air-conditioned shopping malls.