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Global city

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General Geography

   A global city or world city are a concept 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. 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.

General characteristics

   It has been argued that global cities are those sharing the following
   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 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.
     * 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 (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 London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange or
       the Tokyo 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 (for example the
       Toronto International Film Festival), 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, Associated Press, Reuters,
       The New York Times, The 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.
   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 countries, the rise of suburbia and the ongoing migration of
   manufacturing jobs to these 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 has also been observed in Buenos
   Aires, Santiago, Frankfurt, Montréal, 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 5 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.

Alpha world cities (full service world cities)

     * 12 points: London, New York, Paris, Tokyo
     * 10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan,
       Singapore
          + Refer to Official GaWC List.

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, Strasbourg, 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
   by PJ Taylor at GaWC in 2004.
   This ranking list is referred to as the Official GaWC List.

Global Cities

Well rounded global cities

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

Global niche cities - specialised global contributions

    i. Economic: Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.
   ii. Political and social: Brussels, Geneva, Strasbourg and Washington.

World Cities

Subnet articulator cities

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

Worldwide leading cities

    i. Primarily economic global contributions: Frankfurt, Miami, Munich,
       Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich
   ii. 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 conference took 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 was to establish what is meant by
   a 'global city', by examining criteria such as images, narratives,
   economics, planning and people's experiences. It also looked 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:
     * Large populations, proper and agglomerated
     * Diverse demographic constituencies
     * Based on various indicators:
          + Population, habitat, mobility, and urbanisation
     * Significant financial capacity/output:
          + city/regional GDP
          + Stock market indices/market capitalisation
          + Headquarters for multinational corporations
          + Financial service provision; e.g., banks, accountancy
          + Employment
     * Based on quality of life or city development
     * Based on costs of living
          + Based on personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires
     * Significant transport infrastructure:
          + Airports with significant passenger traffic or cargo movements
          + Extensive and popular mass transit systems
          + Prominent rail usage
          + Road vehicle usage
          + Major seaports

     * Significant technological capabilities/infrastructure:
          + Prominent skylines/skyscrapers
     * Significant institutions:
          + Educational institutions; e.g., universities, international
            student attendance
          + Research facilities
          + Health facilities; e.g. hospitals, medical laboratories
     * Sites of pilgrimage for world religions
     * Hosting headquarters for international organizations
     * Cities containing UNESCO World Heritage Sites of historical and
       cultural significance
     * 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
     * Tourism throughput:
          + Visitors
          + Economy
          + Events
     * Site or subject in Arts and Media
          + TV,Film,Video-Games,Music
          + Literature,Magazines,Articles,Documentary
          + Historic Reference,Showcase

Table of the cities of the world

   For selected criteria
   Rank Population of city (proper) Population of metropolitan area
   Percentage foreign born Cost of living Metro systems by annual
   passenger ridership Annual passenger air traffic (2002) Number of
   billionaires (United States Dollars)
   1 Mumbai Tokyo Miami Moscow Tokyo London New York City
   2 Shanghai Seoul Toronto Seoul Moscow Tokyo Los Angeles
   3 Karachi Mexico City Los Angeles Tokyo Seoul Chicago Moscow
   4 Buenos Aires New York City Vancouver Hong Kong Mexico City New York
   City London
   5 Delhi São Paulo New York City London New York City Atlanta Hong Kong
   6 Manila Mumbai Singapore Osaka Paris Paris Chicago
   7 Moscow Delhi Sydney Singapore London Los Angeles San Francisco
   8 Seoul Shanghai Abidjan Copenhagen Osaka Dallas Fort-Worth Paris
   9 São Paulo Kolkata London Zurich Hong Kong Frankfurt Dallas
   10 İstanbul Jakarta Paris Oslo Singapore Houston Tokyo

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
