Global city Totally Explained

Everything about Global Cities totally explained

A global city (also called world city) is a city deemed to be an important node point in the global economic system. The concept comes from geography and urban studies and rests on the idea that globalisation 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. 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.

Characteristics

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'. Although there's a general consensus upon leading world cities, the criteria upon which a classification is made can affect which other cities are included.

International, first-name familiarity; whereby a city is recognized 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.
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.

Studies

The concept of the global city is sometimes associated with the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) based at the geography department of Loughborough University, which aims to provide a categorization and ranking of world cities. An attempt to define and categorise world cities was made in 1999. 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 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, 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 An attempt to redefine and recategorise leading world cities was made by GaWC in 2004. Global Cities � 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, Munich, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich
Primarily non-economic global contributions: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Atlanta, Basel, Barcelona, Cairo, Denver, Harare, Lyon, Manila, Mexico City, Mumbai, 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

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; for example, banks, accountancy
Employment

Based on quality of life or city development

Based on costs of living

Based on personal wealth; for example, 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; for example, universities, international student attendance
Research facilities
Health facilities; for example hospitals, medical laboratories

Sites of pilgrimage for world religions

Hosting headquarters for international organizations

Cities containing 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; for example, 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

Selected criteria

Rank	Population of city (proper)	Population of metropolitan area	Percentage foreign born	Number of billionaires (US Dollars)	Gross Metropolitan Product at PPPs (Total output; not per capita)
1	Mumbai	Tokyo	Miami	Moscow	Tokyo	New York City	Atlanta	Moscow	Tokyo
2	Karachi	Mexico City	Toronto	London	Moscow	London	Chicago	New York City	New York City
3	Delhi	Seoul	Los Angeles	Seoul	New York City	Tokyo	London	London	Los Angeles
4	São Paulo	New York City	Vancouver	Tokyo	Seoul	Seoul	Tokyo	Istanbul	Chicago
5	Shanghai	São Paulo	New York City	Hong Kong	Mexico City	Madrid	Los Angeles	Hong Kong	Paris
6	Moscow	Mumbai	Singapore	Copenhagen	Paris	Moscow	Dallas	Los Angeles	London
7	Seoul	Delhi	Sydney	Geneva	London	Paris	Paris	Mumbai	Greater Osaka Metropolitan Region
8	Istanbul	Shanghai	Abidjan	Osaka	Hong Kong	Mexico City	Frankfurt	San Francisco	Mexico City
9	Mexico City	Jakarta	London	Zürich	Osaka	Hong Kong	Beijing	Dallas	Philadelphia
10	Tokyo	Moscow	Paris	Oslo	São Paulo	Chicago	Denver	Tokyo	Washington, D.C.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Global Cities'.

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