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A global city and world city, or world-class city, is a city that has a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socioeconomic, cultural, and/or political means. In recent years, the term has become increasingly familiar, because of the rise of globalization (i.e., global finance, communications, and travel). The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was first coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work.
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General characteristics
Though defining a global city must be partially subjective, these cities are generally seen as sharing the following characteristics:
- International, first-name familiarity; one would say "Paris", not "Paris, France", and likewise although there are numerous cities and other political entities with the name Paris or variations on it, if one says "Paris" without giving any country or political subdivision, it is assumed that Paris, France is being referred to. Similar situations exist for other global cities such as London and Sydney.
- Active influence 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 UNPERMANENT MISSIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS, UN, 29 April 2003.
- A fairly large population (the center of a metropolitan area with a population of at least one million, typically several million).
- A major international airport (for example, London Heathrow 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 (especially conglomerates), and stock exchanges (for example the New York Stock Exchange, Bourse de Paris, Tokyo Stock Exchange, NASDAQ and 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. For example, Taipei is the very first Wi-Fi city in the world.
- 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, Broadway and West End theatre); an orchestra, an opera company, art galleries, and street performers.
- Several powerful and influential media outlets with an international reach, such as the BBC, Associated Press, The New York Times, Le Monde, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.
- 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.
In the Western view, 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. More recent views often add major Asian cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing. However, many people have their own personal lists, and any two lists are likely to differ based on cultural background, values, and experience.
In certain developed countries, the rise of suburbia and the ongoing migration of manufacturing jobs to developing countries has led to significant urban decay. Therefore, to boost urban regeneration, tourism, and revenue, the goal of building a "world-class" city has recently become an obsession with the governments of some mid-size cities and their constituents.
The phenomenon of world-city building, albeit with slightly more success, has also been observed in Buenos Aires, Frankfurt, Sydney, Mexico City and Toronto: each of these cities has emerged as large and influential.
GaWC Inventory of World Cities (1999 Edition)
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 5GaWC Research Bulletin 5, GaWC, Loughborough University, 28 July 1999 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.The World According to GaWC, GaWC, Loughborough University
Alpha world cities (full service world cities)
- 12 points: London, New York, 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
- 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, 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 Edition)
An attempt to redefine and recategorise leading world cities was made also by GaWC in 2004.
This ranking list is refer to Official GaWC List.Leading World Cities, GaWC, Loughborough University
Global Cities
Well rounded global cities
- 1. Very large contribution: London and New York City.
- Smaller contribution and with cultural bias: Los Angeles, Paris and San Francisco.
- 2. Incipient global cities: Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Toronto.
Global niche cities - specialised global contributions
- 1. Economic: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.
- 2. Political and social: Brussels, Geneva, and Washington.
World Cities
Subnet articulator cities
- 1. Cultural: Berlin, Copenhagen, Melbourne, Munich, Oslo, Rome, Stockholm.
- Political: Bangkok, Beijing, Vienna.
- 2. Social: Manila, Nairobi, Ottawa.
Worldwide leading cities
- 1. Primarily economic global contributions: Frankfurt, Miami, Munich, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich
- 2. Primarily non-economic global contributions: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Atlanta, Basle, Barcelona, Cairo, Denver, Harare, Lyon, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai, New Delhi, Shanghai
Global Cities Conference 2006
This conference2006 Global Cities Conference will take place at Liverpool Hope University, starting on 29 June 2006 and chaired by Dr. Lawrence Phillips of the Global Cities Conference at the university. Its aim is to establish what is meant by a 'global city', by examining criteria such as images, narratives, economics, planning and people's experiences. It will also look at whether the perceived 'big four' — London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo — are in fact the only candidates for global city status, or if they should in fact be joined by fast-growing cities in Asia or the developing world.
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:
Table of the cities of the world
For selected criteriaSee also
References
External links
- "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'", by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang, February 2005 (Full Report in PDF)
- 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
Глобален град | Weltstadt | Ciudad de clase mundial | Ville mondiale | עיר עולם | Wereldstad | Cidade global | Globaali kaupunki | 全球城市
"Global city"