Commenting on the recent Economic Intelligence Unit’s Global Liveability Survey, SMU Behavioural Sciences Institute Director Professor David Chan said that while such comparisons can be useful for benchmarking and learning purposes, we must not be fixated on these international rankings and over-rely on them to drive public policies and urban planning. He added that liveability is more than just the living conditions of the environment, but it is also about the people’s expectations, encounters and experiences as they interact with their living environment, which includes the physical, cultural, social and political domains.