Global City

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A global city or world city is a concept promoted by the geography department at Loughborough University 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.Saskia Sassen - The global city: strategic site/new frontier 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.Sassen, Saskia - The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. (1991) - Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-07063-6

General 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 (disambiguation) 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 United Nations headquarters and consequently contains a vast majority of the permanent missions to the UN. PERMANENT MISSIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS, UN, 29 April 2003
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 Airline 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 Western World, several international cultures and communities (such as a Chinatown, a Little Italy, or other immigration 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, corporation headquarters, international Conglomerate (company), and stock exchanges (for example the World Bank Group, or the London Stock Exchange) that have influence over the world economics.
An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern Multinational corporation 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 university.
A lively cultural scene, including film festivals, premieres, a thriving music or theatre scene (for example, West End theatre theatre and Broadway theatre); an orchestra, an List of important opera companies, art gallery, 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) 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.

GaWC Inventory of World Cities, 1999 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 GaWC 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 Inventory of World Cities, GaWC, Loughborough University

12 points: London, New York City, Paris, Tokyo
10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, California, Milan, Singapore

Beta world cities / major world cities

9 points: San Francisco, California, 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, Massachusetts, Caracas, Dallas, Texas, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Texas, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague, Santiago, Chile, Taipei, Washington, D.C.
5 points: Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw
4 points: Atlanta, Georgia, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Miami, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Munich, Shanghai

Evidence of world city formation Strong evidence

3 points: Athens, Auckland, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg (city), 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, Ohio, Cologne, Detroit, Michigan, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kiev, Lima, Lisbon, Manchester (UK), Montevideo, Oslo, Riyadh, Rotterdam, Seattle, Washington, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, The Hague, Vancouver

Minimal evidence

1 point: Adelaide, Antwerp, Aarhus, Baltimore, Maryland, Bangalore, Bologna, Brasília, Calgary, Cape Town, Colombo, Columbus, Ohio, Dresden, Edinburgh, Genoa, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Kansas City, Missouri, Leeds, Lille, Marseille, Richmond, Virginia, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tehran, Tijuana, Turin, Utrecht (city), Wellington

GaWC Leading World Cities, 2004 An attempt to redefine and recategorise leading world cities was made by PJ Taylor at GaWC in 2004.

Global Cities Leading World Cities, GaWC, Loughborough University

Well rounded global cities

Very large contribution: London and New York City.
Smaller contribution and with cultural strengths: Los Angeles, California, Paris and San Francisco, California.

Incipient global cities: Amsterdam, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Toronto.

Global niche cities - specialised global contributions

Economic: 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, Florida, Munich, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich

Primarily non-economic global contributions: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Atlanta, Georgia, Basel, Barcelona, Cairo, Denver, Colorado, 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, Thirty most populous cities in the world and list of metropolitan areas by population
Diverse demographic constituencies, "2004 Human Development Report" (page 99), UNDP, 2004
Based on various indicators:, "World Resources 1998-99", World Resources Institute, 1998

Population, habitat, City Profiles, UN mobility,, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and urbanisation, UN, 2004

Significant financial capacity/output:

city/regional, "World Resources 1998-99", World Resources Institute, 1998. GDP Global Urban Indicators Database 2 (1998 data) (data sets in .ZIP), UN-HABITAT

Stock market indices World Indices, Bloomberg L.P./market capitalisation

Headquarters for multinational corporations

Financial service provision;J.V. Beaverstock, World City Networks 'From Below', GaWC, Loughborough University, 29 September 2005 e.g., Bank#Top ten banking groups in the world ranked by tier 1 capital, Accountancy#The "Big Four" accountancy firms

Employment

Based on quality of life World-wide quality of living survey, Mercer, 10 April 2006 or city development, "THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES REPORT 2001", UN-HABITAT, 21 June 2006

Based on costs of living 2006 worldwide cost of living survey results released, Mercer, 26 June 2006

Based on personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires The World's Billionaires, Forbes, 2005

Significant transport infrastructure:

World's busiest airports with World's busiest airports by passenger traffic Mapping the Global Network Economy on the Basis of Air Passenger Transport Flows, GaWC, Loughborough University, 8 December 2004 or World's busiest airports by cargo traffic

List of urban rail systems by length and popular Estimated Ridership of the World’s Largest Public Transit Systems, 1998 public transport systems

Prominent rail usage, October 2003

Road vehicle usage Traffic Intensity by International Urban Area: 1990

Major seaports Largest seaports of the world

Significant technological capabilities/infrastructure:

Prominent skylines/skyscrapers The World's Best Skylines

Significant institutions:

Educational institutions; e.g., universities, (registration required) international student attendanceK. O'Connor, International Students and Global Cities, GaWC, Loughborough University, 17 February 2005

Research facilities

Health facilities; e.g. hospitals, medical laboratories

Sites of pilgrimage for world religions

Hosting headquarters for international organizations

Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance World Heritage List, UNESCO

High endowments of cultural facilities:

List of notable museums and galleries

List of notable opera companies

Orchestrass

Notable List of cities containing movie studios and film festivals

Notable theatre centres

Sites of major international sports events; e.g., Olympic Games sitesP. De Groote, Economic and Tourism Aspects of the Olympic Games, GaWC, Loughborough University, 21 September 2005

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{| class="wikitable"|-! Rank !! List of cities by population !! List of metropolitan areas by population !! Percentage foreign born !! Expatriate cost of living !! Top 10 rail systems in terms of annual passenger rides !! List of urban rail systems by length !! Annual passenger air traffic in a single airport.(2006)http://www.aci.aero/aci/aci/file/Press%20Releases/2007_PRs/PR_180707_TOP10.pdf !! billionaire, International Financial Services, December 2004 Forbes reports billionaire boom, BBC, 10 March 2006 500 richest in Russia, Finance Magazine, published by RBC. February 2006. !! Gross Metropolitan Product (Total population,not per capita) ] || Tokyo ] || Moscow ] || London ] || New York City ]|-| 2 || Karachi ] || Toronto ] || Moscow ] || Chicago ] || New York City || [Seoul ] || Tokyo ] || Tokyo ] || Moscow ]|-| 4 || São Paulo ] || Vancouver ] || Seoul ] || Tokyo ] || Chicago || [São Paulo ] || London ] || Madrid ] || Hong Kong ]|-| 6 || Moscow ] || Singapore ] || Paris ] || Dallas ] || London || [Delhi ] || Geneva ] || Paris ] || San Francisco, California || Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto|-| 8 || Istanbul ] || Abidjan ] || Frankfurt ] || Frankfurt ] || Mexico City || [Jakarta ] || Zürich ] || Hong Kong ] || Dallas, Texas || Philadelphia || [Moscow ] || Oslo/New York City ] || Chicago ] || Tokyo ]|}

See also

Primate city
List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees
Metropolis
Megalopolis (city type)

References External links

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
"U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'", by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang, February 2005 ( Full Report in PDF)

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 (disambiguation) 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 United Nations headquarters and consequently contains a vast majority of the permanent missions to the UN. PERMANENT MISSIONS TO THE UNITED NATIONS, UN, 29 April 2003
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 Airline 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 Western World, several international cultures and communities (such as a Chinatown, a Little Italy, or other immigration 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, corporation headquarters, international Conglomerate (company), and stock exchanges (for example the World Bank Group, or the London Stock Exchange) that have influence over the world economics.
An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern Multinational corporation 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 university.
A lively cultural scene, including film festivals, premieres, a thriving music or theatre scene (for example, West End theatre theatre and Broadway theatre); an orchestra, an List of important opera companies, art gallery, 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) tennis events.

12 points: London, New York City, Paris, Tokyo
10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, California, Milan, Singapore

Beta world cities / major world cities

9 points: San Francisco, California, 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, Massachusetts, Caracas, Dallas, Texas, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Texas, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague, Santiago, Chile, Taipei, Washington, D.C.
5 points: Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw
4 points: Atlanta, Georgia, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Miami, Florida, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Munich, Shanghai

Evidence of world city formation Strong evidence

3 points: Athens, Auckland, Dublin, Helsinki, Luxembourg (city), 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, Ohio, Cologne, Detroit, Michigan, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City, Kiev, Lima, Lisbon, Manchester (UK), Montevideo, Oslo, Riyadh, Rotterdam, Seattle, Washington, Strasbourg, Stuttgart, The Hague, Vancouver

Minimal evidence

1 point: Adelaide, Antwerp, Aarhus, Baltimore, Maryland, Bangalore, Bologna, Brasília, Calgary, Cape Town, Colombo, Columbus, Ohio, Dresden, Edinburgh, Genoa, Glasgow, Gothenburg, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Kansas City, Missouri, Leeds, Lille, Marseille, Richmond, Virginia, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tehran, Tijuana, Turin, Utrecht (city), Wellington

Very large contribution: London and New York City.
Smaller contribution and with cultural strengths: Los Angeles, California, Paris and San Francisco, California.

Incipient global cities: Amsterdam, Boston, Massachusetts, Chicago, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Toronto.

Global niche cities - specialised global contributions

Economic: 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, Florida, Munich, Osaka, Singapore, Sydney, Zurich

Primarily non-economic global contributions: Abidjan, Addis Ababa, Atlanta, Georgia, Basel, Barcelona, Cairo, Denver, Colorado, 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, Thirty most populous cities in the world and list of metropolitan areas by population
Diverse demographic constituencies, "2004 Human Development Report" (page 99), UNDP, 2004
Based on various indicators:, "World Resources 1998-99", World Resources Institute, 1998

Population, habitat, City Profiles, UN mobility,, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and urbanisation, UN, 2004

Significant financial capacity/output:

city/regional, "World Resources 1998-99", World Resources Institute, 1998. GDP Global Urban Indicators Database 2 (1998 data) (data sets in .ZIP), UN-HABITAT

Stock market indices World Indices, Bloomberg L.P./market capitalisation

Based on quality of life World-wide quality of living survey, Mercer, 10 April 2006 or city development, "THE STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES REPORT 2001", UN-HABITAT, 21 June 2006

Based on costs of living 2006 worldwide cost of living survey results released, Mercer, 26 June 2006

Based on personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires The World's Billionaires, Forbes, 2005

Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance World Heritage List, UNESCO

Primate city
List of most expensive cities for expatriate employees
Metropolis
Megalopolis (city type)

References External links

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
"U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network'", by Peter J. Taylor and Robert E. Lang, February 2005 ( Full Report in PDF)

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