The Global City
*In global city it emphasized globalization as SPATIAL.
*It occurs in:
—physical space
—based in places
Definining Global City
Sociologist Saskia Sassen poppularized the term “Global City” in the 1990s. Her criteria for what
constitutes a global were primarily economic.
Sociologist Saskia Sassen, initially identified three Global Cities; New York, London, and Tokyo, all
of these are hubs of global finance and capitalism.
New York has the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
London has the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE)
Tokyo has the Nikkei
—The New York Stock Exchange represents the highest concentration of capital in the world.—
*Latest Development
Los Angeles can now rival the Big Apples cultural influence.
San Francisco is now the home of the most powerful internet companies.
Growth of Chinese economy has turned cities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou into center trade of
finance. Chinese government reopened the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 1990. Since then it has grown to
become the 5th largest stock market in the world.
Some cities “global” simply because they are great places to live in.
*Livable Cities
Vienna
Melbourne
Osaka
Calgary
Sydney
Vancouver
Toronto
Tokyo
Copenhagen
Adelaide
*The Most Violent Cities in the World
Country
Mexico— Los Cabos, Acapulco, Tijuana, La Paz, Ciudad Victoria.
Brazil— Natal, Fortaleza, Belem.
Venezuela—Caracas, Ciudad Guayana.
*Indicators of Globality
1The foremost characteristic of global city is economic power. Sociologist Saskia Sassen remains correct in
saying that:
“Economic power largely determines which cities are global.”
*The Economist Intelligence Unit measure the economic competitiveness of a city:
•Market size
•Purchasing power of the citizens
•Size of middle class
•Potential for growth
2. Global cities are also centers of authority.
The cities are considered centers of political influence that house major international organizations. The
headquarters of:
*United Nations is in New York
*European Union is in Brussels
*Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is in Jakarta
3. Global cities are centers of higher learning and culture. A city’s intellectual influence is seen through the
influence of its publishing industry.
The Challenges of Global Cities
Global cities set up an image of an exciting lifestyles, but such description is lacking. Global cities have
great inequality and poverty as well as tremendous violence. They create winners and losers.
Cities can be sustainable because of their density. As Richard Florida notes: “Ecologists have found that by
concentrating their populations in smaller areas, cities and metros decrease human encroachment on
natural habitat.” Cities only cover 2% of the world’s landmass, but they consume 78% of global energy.
Cities with global influence, are obvious targets for terrorist 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.
The Global City and the Poor
*Economic globalization has paved the way for massive inequality, thus, very pronounced in cities.
*Gentrification – a phenomenon of driving out the poor in favor of newer, wealthier residents.
*A large global city may thus be a paradise for some, but a purgatory for others.
Conclusion
*Global cities are material representations of globalization.
*Through global city, we see the best of globalization;
—They are places that create exciting fusions of culture and ideas.
—They are also places that generate tremendous wealth.
However, they remain sites of great inequality, where global servants serve global entrepreneurs.