The Characteristics of and Issues on Being a Global City

Global City

1. If you had the chance to go to another country to visit, work or live permanently, where would it be and why?

2. What do you think are the characteristics of a progressive country?

3. The Global City

4. A  global city , also known as a  power city ,  world city ,  alpha city , or  world center , is a  city  that serves as a primary node in the  global economic network.  The concept originates from  geography  and  urban studies , based on the thesis that  globalization  has created a hierarchy of strategic  geographic locations  with varying degrees of influence over  finance ,  trade , and  culture  worldwide. The  global city  represents the most complex and significant hub within the international system, characterized by links binding it to other cities that have direct, tangible effects on global  socioeconomic  affairs.

5. The Global Cities…

6. Global cities are hubs of innovation, creativity and productivity and the creators of new trends and fashions but also concentrations of social ills and all kinds.

7. New York, London and Paris The top of the “urban cultural hierarchy” (Sharon Zukin , 1998)

8. Transportation New York City is the top international air passenger gateway to the United States

9. Transportation more than 12,000 yellow cabs

10. Transportation the New York City Subway: open 24 hours a day

11. A network of major cultural institutions: Metropolitan Museum of Art The Lincoln Center for the Performing Art

12. Media New York is a global center for the television, music and newspaper industries

13. New York: one of the three “command centers“ for the world economy

14. Global cities fulfill coordinating roles and functions rather than competing against each other ( Saskia Sassen )

15. London and New York are two important global cities in the world and nobody believes that they will lose their positions within the next ten years.

16. Tokyo and Paris remain dominance in their nations in manufacturing and research and development.

17. Since innovation creates new products and it facilitates the commerce of the global economy, global cities are expected to become more powerful.

18. The Global City Globalization is spatial. First, it is spatial because it occurs in physical spaces. You can see it when foreign investments and capital move through a city, and when companies build skyscrapers. People who are working in these businesses – or Filipinos working abroad – start to purchase or rent high-rise condominium units and better homes. As all these events happen, more people are driven out of city centers to make way for the new developments.

19. Second, globalization is spatial because what makes it move is the fact that it is based in places. Los Angeles, the home of Hollywood, is where movies are made for global consumption. The main headquarters of Sony is in Tokyo, and from there, the company coordinates the sale of its various electronics goods to branches across the world. In other words, cities act on globalization and globalization acts on cities. They are the sites as well as the mediums of globalization. Just as the internet enables and shapes global forces, so too do cities.

20. In the years to come, more and more people will experience globalization through cities. In 1950, only 30% of the world lived in urban areas. By 2014, that number had increased to 54 percent. And by 2050, it is expected to reach 66 percent.

21. Sociologist Saskia Sassen popularized the term “global city” in the 1990s. Her criteria for what constitutes a global city were primarily economic. In her work, she initially identified three global cities: New York, London, and Tokyo, which are hubs of global finance and capitalism. They are the homes, for instance, of the world’s top stock exchanges where investors buy and sell shares in major corporations. New York has the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), London has the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE), and Tokyo has the Nikkei.

22. Recent commentators have expanded the criteria that Sassen used to determine what constitutes a global city. Though it is not as wealthy as New York, movie-making mecca Los Angles can now rival the Big Apple’s cultural influence. San Francisco must now factor in as another global city because it is the home of the most powerful internet companies - Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Finally, the growth of the Chinese economy has turned cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou into centers of trade and finance. The Chinese government reopened the Shanghai Stock Exchange in late 1990, and since then, it has grown to become the fifth-largest stock market in the world.

23. Others consider some cities ‘global’ since they are great places to live in. In Australia, Sydney commands the greatest proportion of capital. However, Melbourne is described as Sydney’s rival ‘global city’ because many magazines and lists have now referred to its as the world’s ‘most livable city’- a place with good public transportation, a thriving cultural scene, and a relatively easy pace of life.

24. Indicators for Globality So what are the multiple attributes of the global city? The foremost characteristic is economic power. Sassen remains correct in saying that economic power largely determines which cities are global. New York may have the largest stock market in the world but Tokyo houses the greatest number of corporate headquarters (613 company headquarters as against 217 in New York, its closest competitor). Shanghai may have a smaller stock market compared to New York and Tokyo, but plays a critical role in the global economic supply chain.

25. Economic opportunities in a global city make it attractive to talents from across the world. Since the 1970s, many of the top IT programmers and engineers from Asia have moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to become some of the key figures in Silicon Valley’s technology boom. London remains a preferred destination for many Filipinos with nursing degrees.

26. To measure the economic competitiveness of a city, the Economic Intelligence Unit has added other criteria like market size, purchasing power of citizens, size of the middle class, and potential for growth. Based on these criteria, ‘tiny’ Singapore is considered Asia’s most competitive city because of its strong market, efficient, and incorruptible government, and livability. It also houses the regional offices of many major global corporations.

27. Global cities are also centers of authority. Washington D.C. may not be as wealthy as New York, but it is the seat of American state power. People around the world know its major landmarks: the White House, the Capitol Building (Congress), the Supreme Court, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Similarly, compared with Sydney and Melbourne, Canberra is a sleepy town and thus is not as attractive to tourists. But as Australia’s political capital, it is home to the country’s top politicians, bureaucrats, and policy advisors.

28. The cities that house major international organizations may also be considered centers of political influence. The headquarters of the United Nations is in New York, and that of the European Union is in Brussels. An influential political city near the Philippines is Jakarta, which is not just the capital of Indonesia, but also the location of the main headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Powerful political hubs exert influence on their own countries as well as on international affairs. The European Central Bank, which oversees the Euro (the European Union’s currency), is based in Frankfurt. A decision made in that city can, therefore, affect the political economy of an entire continent and beyond.

29. Finally, global cities are centers of higher learning and culture. A city’s intellectual influence is seen through the influence of its publishing industry. Many of the books that people read are published in places like New York, London, or Paris. The New York Times carries the name of New York City, but it is far from being a local newspaper. People read it not just across America, but also all over the world. One of the reasons for the many tourists visiting Boston is because they want to see Harvard University – the world’s top university. Many Asian teenagers are moving to cities in Australia because of the leading English-language universities there. Education is currently Australia’s third largest export, just behind coal and iron ore, and significantly ahead of tourism. In 2015, the Australian government reported that it made as much as 19.2 billion Australian dollars (roughly 14 billion US dollars) from education alone.

30. Today, global cities become culturally diverse. In a global city, one can try cuisines from different parts of the world. Because of their large Turkish populations, for example, Berlin and Tokyo offer some of the best Turkish food one can find outside of Turkey. Manila is not very global but Singapore is, because it has foreign population of 38%.

31. Characteristics Although criteria are variable and fluid, these are typical characteristics of world cities: The most prominent criterion has been providing a variety of  international financial services , [13]  notably in  finance, insurance, real estate ,  banking ,  accountancy , and  marketing ; and their amalgamation of financial headquarters, a  stock exchange , and other major financial institutions. Headquarters  of numerous  multinational corporations . Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area Major manufacturing centers with  port  and  container  facilities Considerable  decision-making power  daily and at a global level Centers of new ideas and  innovation  in business, economics, and culture. Centers of  digital  and other media and communications for  global networks The dominance of the national region with great international significance The high percentage of residents employed in the  services sector  and  information sector High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities and  research  facilities; and attracting international student attendance [14] Multi-functional  infrastructure  offering some of the best legal, medical, and entertainment facilities in the country High diversity in language, culture, religion, and ideologies

32. The Challenges of the Global City Global cities conjure up images of fast-paced, exciting, cosmopolitan lifestyles. But such descriptions are lacking. Global cities also have their undersides. They can be sites of great inequality and poverty as well as tremendous violence. Like the broader processes of globalization, global cities create winners and losers.

33. Cities can be sustainable because of their density. Denser settlement patterns yield energy savings, apartment buildings, for example, are more efficient to heal and cool than detached suburban houses. Moreover, in cities with extensive public transportation systems, people tend to drive less and thereby cut carbon emissions. It is no surprise to learn than, largely because of the city’s extensive train system, New Yorkers have the lowest per capita carbon footprint in the United States. In Asia, dense global cities like Singapore and Tokyo also have relatively low per capital carbon footprints.

34. Not all cities, however, are as dense as New York or Tokyo. Some cities like Los Angeles are urban sprawls, with massive freeways that force residents to spend money on cars and gas. And while cities like Manila, Bangkok, and Mumbai are dense, their lack of transportation and their governments’ inability to regulate their car industries have made them extremely polluted.

35. More importantly, because of the sheer size of city populations across the world, it is not surprising that urban areas consume most of the world’s energy. City’s only cover 2 percent of the world’s landmass, but they consume 78% of global energy. Therefore, if carbon emissions must cut to prevent global warming, this massive energy consumption in cities must be curbed. This action will require a lot of creativity. For example, many food products travel many miles before they get to major city centers. Shipping this food through trains, buses, and even planes increases carbon emissions. Will it be possible to grow more food in cities instead? Solutions like so-called ‘vertical farms’ built in abandoned buildings may lead the way towards more environmentally sustainable cities. If more food can be grown with less water in denser spaces, cities will begin to be greener.

36. The major terror attacks of recent years have also targeted cities. Cities, especially those with global influence, are obvious targets for terrorists due to their high populations and their role as symbols of globalization that many terrorists despise. The same attributes that make them attractive to workers and migrants make them sites of potential terrorist violence. Only by looking from this perspective will we able to understand 9/11 attacks that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York.

37. The Global City and the Poor It has been consistently noted that economic globalization has paved the way for massive inequality. This phenomenon is thus very pronounced in cities. Some large cities, particularly those in Scandinavia, have found ways to mitigate inequality through state-led social redistribution programs. Yet many cities, particularly those in the developing countries, are sites of contradiction. In places like Mumbai, Jakarta, and Manila, it is common to find gleaming buildings alongside massive shantytowns.

38. In the outskirts of New York and San Francisco are poor urban enclaves occupied by African-Americans and immigrant families who are often denied opportunities at a better life. Slowly, they are being forced to move farther away from the economic centers of their cities.

39. As a city attracts more capital and richer residents, real estate prices go up and poor residents are forced to relocate to far away but cheaper areas. This phenomenon of driving out the poor in favor of newer, wealthier residents is called gentrification.

40. In most of the world’s global cities, the middle class is also thinning out. Globalization creates high-income jobs that are concentrated in global cities. These high earners, in turn, generate demand for an unskilled labor force (hotel cleaners, nannies, maids, waitresses, etc.) that will attend to their increasing needs.

41. Meanwhile, many middle-income jobs in manufacturing and business process outsourcing (call center, for example) are moving to other countries. This hollowing out of the middle class in global cities has heightened the inequality within them. In places like New York, there are high-rolling American investment bankers whose children are raised by Filipina maids. A large global city may thus be a paradise for some, but a purgatory for others.

42. Any questions?

43. QUIZ 1. Enumerate at least FOUR indicators for globality. Discuss each. 2. Discuss at least TWO advantages and TWO disadvantages of being a global city.