Global city

Global city

A global city or world city is a concept promoted by the geography department at Loughborough University which postulates that globalisation can be broken down in terms of strategic geographic locales that see global processes being created, facilitated and enacted. 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 more than just socio-economic means, with influence in terms of culture, or politics.[1] The terminology of "global city", as opposed to megacity, is thought to have been first coined by Saskia Sassen in reference to London, New York and Tokyo in her 1991 work The Global City.[2]

General characteristics

International, first-name familiarity; whereby a city is recognised without the need for a political subdivision. For example, although there are numerous cities and other political entities with the name Paris or variations on it, one would say "Paris", not "Paris, France".

Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs; for example, New York City is home to the United Nations headquarters complex and consequently contains a vast majority of the permanent missions to the UN.[3]
A fairly large population (the centre of a metropolitan area with a population of at least one million, typically several million).

A major international airport that serves as an established hub for several international airlines.
An advanced transportation system that includes several freeways and/or a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail, ferry, or bus).

In the West, several international cultures and communities (such as a Chinatown, a Little Italy, or other immigrant communities). In other parts of the world, cities which attract large foreign businesses and related expatriate communities; for example, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Moscow.

International financial institutions, law firms, corporate headquarters, international conglomerates, and stock exchanges (for example the World Bank, or the London Stock Exchange) that have influence over the world economy.
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.

World-renowned cultural institutions, such as museums and universities.
A lively cultural scene, including film festivals, premieres, a thriving music or theatre scene (for example, West End theatre and Broadway); an orchestra, an opera company, art galleries, and street performers.

Several powerful and 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, Football World Cup, or Grand Slam tennis events.

To some, London, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo have been traditionally considered the 'big four' world cities – not coincidentally, they also serve as symbols of global capitalism.[citation needed] However, many people have their own personal lists, and any two lists are likely to differ based on cultural background, values, and experience.

GaWC Inventory of World Cities, 1999

An attempt to define and categorise world cities was made in 1999 by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC), based primarily at Loughborough University in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. The roster was outlined in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5[4] and ranked cities based on provision of "advanced producer services" such as accountancy, advertising, finance and law, by international corporations. The GaWC inventory identifies three levels of world cities and several sub-ranks.

Note that this roster generally denotes cities in which there are offices of certain multinational companies providing financial and consulting services rather than other cultural, political, and economic centres. There is a schematic map of GaWC cities at their website.[5]

Alpha world cities / full service world cities[6]

12 points: London, New York City, Paris, Tokyo

10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore

Beta world cities / major world cities

9 points: San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Zürich

8 points: Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, São Paulo

7 points: Moscow, Seoul


Gamma world cities / minor world cities

6 points: Amsterdam, Boston, Caracas, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague, Santiago, Taipei, Washington, D.C.

5 points: Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw

4 points: Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Miami, Minneapolis, Munich, Shanghai


Evidence of world city formation

Strong evidence


3 points: Athens, Auckland, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg, Lyon, Mumbai, New Delhi, Philadelphia, Rio de Janeiro, Tel Aviv, Vienna

Some evidence

2 points: Abu Dhabi, Almaty, Birmingham (UK), Bogotá, Bratislava, Brisbane, Bucharest, Cairo, Cleveland, Cologne, Detroit, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kiev, Lima, Lisbon, Manchester (UK), Montevideo, Oslo, Riyadh, Rotterdam, Seattle, Stuttgart, The Hague, Vancouver

Minimal evidence

1 point: Adelaide, Antwerp, Aarhus, Baltimore, Bangalore, Bologna, Brasília, Calgary, Cape Town, Colombo, Columbus, Dresden, Edinburgh, Genoa, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Kansas City, Leeds, Lille, Marseille, Richmond, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tehran, Tijuana, Turin, Utrecht, Wellington

GaWC Leading World Cities, 2004

An attempt to redefine and recategorise leading world cities was made by PJ Taylor at GaWC in 2004.

Global Cities [7]

Well rounded global cities


Very large contribution: London and New York City.
Smaller contribution and with cultural strengths: Los Angeles, Paris and San Francisco.
Incipient global cities: Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Toronto.

Global niche cities - specialised global contributions

Financial: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.
Political and social: Brussels, Geneva and Washington, D.C.


World Cities


Subnet articulator cities

Cultural: Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Munich, Oslo, Rome, Stockholm.Political: Bangkok, Beijing, Vienna.
Social: Manila, Nairobi, Ottawa.


Worldwide leading cities

Primarily economic global contributions: Frankfurt, Miami,Mumbai, Munich, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich

Primarily non-economic global contributions: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Atlanta, Basel, Barcelona, Cairo, Denver, Harare, Lyon, Manila, Mexico City, New Delhi, Shanghai.


Other criteria

The GaWC list is based on specific criteria and, thus, may not include other cities of global significance or elsewhere on the spectrum. For example, cities with the following:

• Large populations, proper and agglomerated
  
• Diverse demographic constituencies[8]
  
• Based on various indicators:[9]
  
• Population, habitat,[10] mobility,[11] and urbanisation[12]
  
• Significant financial capacity/output:
  
• city/regional[13] GDP[14]
  
• Stock market indices[15]/market capitalisation
  
• Headquarters for multinational corporations
  
• Financial service provision;[16] e.g., banks, accountancy
  
• Employment
  
• Based on quality of life[17] or city development[18]
  
• Based on costs of living[19]
  
• Based on personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires[20]
  
• Significant transport infrastructure:
  
• Airports with significant passenger traffic[21] or cargo movements
  
• Extensive and popular[22] mass transit systems
  
• Prominent rail usage[23]
  
• Road vehicle usage[24]
  
• Major seaports[25]

• Significant technological capabilities/infrastructure:
  
• Prominent skylines/skyscrapers[26]
  
• Significant institutions:
  
• Educational institutions; e.g., universities,[27] international student attendance[28]
  
• Research facilities
  
• Health facilities; e.g. hospitals, medical laboratories
  
• Sites of pilgrimage for world religions
  
• Hosting headquarters for international organizations
  
• Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance[29]
  
• High endowments of cultural facilities:
  
• Notable museums and galleries
  
• Notable opera
  
• Notable orchestras
  
• Notable film centres and film festivals
  
• Notable theatre centres
  
• Sites of major international sports events; e.g., Olympic Games sites[30]
  
• Tourism throughput:
  
• Visitors
  
• Economy
  
• Events
  
• Site or subject in Arts and Media
  
• TV, Film, Video Games, Music
  
• Literature, Magazines, Articles, Documentary
  
• Historic Reference, Showcase

Global Cities Program

In 2007, a new trilateral "Global Cities" Program is created between Northwestern University (Chicago), Universidad Panamericana (Mexico City) and Sciences Po (Paris).
This program is designed to introduce students to the common issues faced by global cities and to engage them in research projects in a range of transnational issues of relevance to globalized cities and countries, such as migration, integration, environmental degradation, global culture and national identity.

Students are integrated into a program consisting of ten or so students from each institution and spend the whole year as part of this group, sharing culture, learning and conducting research in the three countries. The program begins at Northwestern in the Fall quarter, continues at Panamericana in the Winter quarter, and ends at Sciences Po in the Spring quarter.
This program offers a new perspective on international student exchanges and could be defined as the symbol of a new "global education", focusing on contemporary issues and multiculturalism.

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)