S Korea's Daejeon named most livable community

The winners of the International Awards for Livable Communities 2013 were announced on Dec 2 in Xiamen, Fujian province, with South Korea's Daejeon Metropolitan City winning first place in Group E (reserved for cities with a population exceeding 1 million).

Forty-four cities, districts and communities from 23 countries took part in the finale of this year's environmental contest, which is divided into five groups based on city populations.

Sponsored by the International Federation of Parks and Recreation Administration and the United Nations Environment Program, the annual LivCom Awards was launched in 1997 with the aim of encouraging best practices, innovation and leadership in the creation of environmentally sustainable communities that provide a better quality of life for ordinary people.

Xiamen, the host city of this year's event, won first place in Group E during the 2002 contest held in Stuttgart, Germany.