Global city

A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalization can be understood as largely created, facilitated and enacted in strategic geographic locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade.

The most complex of these entities is the "global city", whereby the linkages binding a city have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socio-economic means.^[1] The terminology of "global city", as opposed to megacity, was popularized by the sociologist Saskia Sassen in reference to her 1991 work, "The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo"^[2] though the term "world city" to describe cities which control a disproportionate amount of global business dates to at least May 1886, to a description of Liverpool by the Illustrated London News.^[3] Patrick Geddes also used the term "world city" later in 1915.^[4] Cities can fall from such categorization, as in the case of cities that have become less cosmopolitan and less internationally renowned in the current era, e.g., Kaliningrad, Russia; Thessaloniki, Greece; and Alexandria, Egypt.

Criteria

Global City or world city status is seen as beneficial, and because of this many groups have tried to classify and rank which cities are seen as 'world cities' or 'non-world cities'.^[4] Although there is a consensus upon leading world cities,^[5] the criteria upon which a classification is made can affect which other cities are included.^[4] The criteria for identification tend either to be based on a "yardstick value" ("e.g., if the producer-service sector is the largest sector, then city X is a world city")^[4] or on an "imminent determination" ("if the producer-service sector of city X is greater than the producer-service sector of N other cities, then city X is a world city").^[4]

Economic characteristics

• Corporate headquarters for multinational corporations, international financial institutions, law firms, conglomerates, and stock exchanges that have influence over the world economy.
• Significant financial capacity/output: city/regional^[6] GDP^[7]
• Stock market indices^[8]/market capitalisation
• Financial service provision;^[9] e.g., banks, accountancy
• Costs of living^[10] personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires^[11]

Political characteristics

• Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs; for example, Beijing, Berlin, London, Moscow, New Delhi, Paris, Tokyo, and Washington are capitals of influential nations.
• Hosting headquarters for international organizations such as the (World Bank), NATO, or the UN.
• A large proper, population of the municipality (the centre of a metropolitan area, typically several million) or agglomeration
• Diverse demographic constituencies^[12] based on various indicators:^[13] population, habitat,^[14] mobility,^[15] and urbanisation^[16]
• Quality of life standards^[17] or city development^[18]
• Expatriate communities

Cultural characteristics

• International, first-name familiarity. Cities such as New York City, Tokyo, Paris and London are commonly referred to without needing to specify their country.
• Renowned cultural institutions (often with high endowments), such as notable museums and galleries, notable opera, major ballet companies, orchestras, notable film centres and theatre centres. A lively cultural scene, including film festivals (such as the Toronto International Film Festival), premieres, a thriving music scene, nightlife, an opera company, art galleries, street performers, and annual parades.
• Several influential media outlets with an international reach, such as the BBC, Reuters, The New York Times, or Agence France-Presse.
• A strong sporting community, including major sports facilities, home teams in major league sports, and the ability and historical experience to host international sporting events such as the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, or Grand Slam tennis events.^[19]
• Educational institutions; e.g., universities,^[20] international student attendance,^[21] research facilities
• Sites of pilgrimage for world religions (for example, Mecca, Jerusalem or Rome)
• Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance^[22]
• Tourism throughout
• City as site or subject in arts and media, television, film, video games, music, literature, magazines, articles, documentary
• City as an often repeated historic reference, showcase, or symbolic actions

Infrastructural characteristics

• An advanced transportation system that includes several highways and/or a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail, ferry, or bus), for example, the London Underground.
• Extensive and popular^[23] mass transit systems, prominent rail usage,^[24] road vehicle usage,^[25] major seaports^[26]
• A major international airport that serves as an established hub for several international airlines, for example, London Heathrow, Atlanta, Tokyo, and Chicago O'Hare. Airports with significant passenger traffic and international passengers traffic^[27] or cargo movements.
• An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern trans-national corporations rely, such as fiberoptics, Wi-Fi networks, cellular phone services, and other high-speed lines of communications. For example, Seoul and Tokyo are known as the digital and technology capitals of the world.
• Health facilities; e.g., hospitals, medical laboratories
• Prominent skylines/skyscrapers (for example New York, Chicago, Sydney, or Hong Kong)^[28]
• Cities' telephone and mail services, airport flights-range, traffic congestion, availability of water, train facilities, nearby parks, hospitals, libraries, police stations, etc.

Studies

GaWC studies

The first attempt to define, categorize, and rank global cities using 'relational data' was made in 1998 by Jon Beaverstock, Richard G Smith and Peter Taylor, who all worked at that time at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Together they established the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. A roster of world cities was outlined in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 and ranked cities based on their connectivity through four "advanced producer services": accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law.^[5] The GaWC inventory identifies three levels of global cities and several sub-ranks. This roster generally denotes cities in which there are offices of certain multinational corporations providing financial and consulting services rather than denoting other cultural, political, and economic centres.

The 2004 rankings acknowledged several new indicators while continuing to rank city economics more heavily than political or cultural factors. The 2008 roster, similar to the 1998 version, is sorted into categories of "Alpha" world cities (with four sub-categories), "Beta" world cities (three sub-categories), "Gamma" world cities (three sub-categories), and additional cities with "High sufficiency" or "Sufficiency" world city presence.

The 2010 roster of leading Alpha, Beta and Gamma world cities is as follows: ^[29]

Global Cities Index

In 2008, the American journal Foreign Policy, in conjunction with consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, published a ranking of global cities, based on consultation with Saskia Sassen, Witold Rybczynski, and others. Foreign Policy noted that "the world’s biggest, most interconnected cities help set global agendas, weather transnational dangers, and serve as the hubs of global integration. They are the engines of growth for their countries and the gateways to the resources of their regions."^[30]

In 2010 the index was updated, and the top thirty ranked were:^[31][32]

Global Power City Index

The Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation in Tokyo, Japan issued a comprehensive study of global cities in 2010. The ranking is based on six overall categories, "Economy", "Research & Development", "Cultural Interaction", "Livability", "Ecology & Natural Environment", and "Accessibility", with 69 individual indicators among them.^[33] This Japanese ranking also breaks down top ten world cities ranked in subjective categories such as "manager, researcher, artist, visitor and resident."

World City Survey

In 2010 the London based estate agent Knight Frank LLP together with the Citibank published a survey of world cities.^[34] The Wealth Report 2010, which includes the World City Survey, assesses four parameters — economic activity, political power, knowledge and influence, and quality of life. The list aimed to rank the world's 40 most influential cities. New York tops the list in Economic activity, political power and knowledge and Paris tops it in quality of life. London and Paris get the same aggregate ranking of 149, making them de facto world's 2nd and 3rd most prominent cities.^[35] In 2011, the list was updated, and the top 20 cities ranked are:^[36]

Cities ranked by category

See also

• Metropolis
• Megalopolis (city type)
• Primate city
• Financial centre
• Ecumenopolis
• Ranally city rating system

References

External links

• Repository of Links Relating to Urban Places
• World Cities article by Jennifer Curtis of Charles Sturt University
• The World-System’s City System: A Research Agenda by Jeffrey Kentor and Michael Timberlake of the University of Utah and David Smith of University of California, Irvine
• The State of the World's Cities, 2001, UN Human Settlements Programme
• "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'", by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang, February 2005 (Full Report in PDF)
• Global City Map