The Global City

Chapter 8
The Contemporary World
(Salient points)
 Point 1: Why study global cities?
1. Globalization is spatial because:
a. It occurs in physical spaces, e.g. foreign
investments, capital movement, overseas
workers starting to purchase or renting high-rise
condominium units.
b. It is based in places, e.g., Los Angeles, where
movies are made for global consumption; Tokyo
(Sony HQ – where Sony coordinates global sales)
– cities act on globalization and globalization
acts on cities.
 Point 2: Global city; defined
1. According to Sociologist Saskia Sassen (1990s), the criteria
for what constitutes a global city were primarily
economic.
2. What are the three global cities according to her?
a. New York (NYSE) (value of shares traded here reach about
$19,300 B; compared to PSEi with $231 B)
b. London (FTSE)
c. Tokyo (Nikkei) – houses 613 corporate/company HQs
as against 217 of NY, the closest competitor
All of which are hubs of global finance and capitalism. They are the
homes of the world’s top stock exchanges where investors buy
and sell shares in major corporations.
Following this premise, China’s cities like Shanghai may become
part of this, being the manufacturing center of the world; same as
Shanghai, the world’s busiest port.
 Point 3: Expansion of the criteria
1. Cultural influence may now be regarded as
another factor, e.g., L.A., being the movie-
making mecca (Hollywood); San Francisco, the
home of the most powerful internet companies
(Facebook, Twitter, and Google).
2. “Great places to live in” – for example, Sydney,
Australia which commands the greatest
proportion of capital; Melbourne, regarded as
the most livable city because of public
transportation, cultural scene and relatively easy
pace of life.
 Point 4: Indicators of Globality
1. Economic competitiveness, e.g., market size, purchasing power of
citizens, size of the middle class, and potential for growth. Based
on this criteria, Singapore is considered as 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.
2. Center of authority - based on this, Washington D.C. may also be
regarded as a global city, it being the seat of American state
power. (White House, Capitol Building, SCOTUS, Lincoln
Memorial, Washington Monument; Canberra, Australia, the
country’s political capital, home to the country’s top politicians,
bureaucrats, and policy advisors; cities that house major
international organizations such as NY (UN); Brussels (EU); Jakarta
(ASEAN). These powerful political hubs can exert influence on their
own countries as well as on international affairs.
3. Centers of higher learning – seen through the
influence of its publishing industry (e.g., NY [NY
Times], London, Paris); Education/academic
sector – Boston (Harvard).
4. Centers of culture – L.A. (US film industry);
Copenhagen (culinary); Manchester (Music-
post-punk and new wave bands); Singapore –
top TV stations and news organizations.
Today, global cities become culturally diverse.
(e.g. food – Singapore ; Tokyo and Berlin
(Turkish).
Point 5: Challenges of Global Cities
1. They can be sites of great inequality and
poverty.
Cities can be sustainable because of their density.
Ecologists have found that by concentrating their
populations in smaller areas, cities and metros decrease
human encroachment on natural habitats. Denser
settlement patterns yield energy savings. (e.g., apartment
buildings are more efficient to heat and cool than
detached suburban houses). In cities with extensive public
transportation systems, people tend to drive less and
thereby cut carbon emissions.
 Not all cities, however, are as dense as New York or Tokyo.
Some cities like L.A. 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
public transportation and their governments’ inability to
regulate their car industries have made them extremely
polluted.
2. They can be sites of tremendous violence.
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 may terrorists despise. The
same attributes that make them attractive to workers and
migrants make them sites of potential terrorist violence. (e.g.,
9/11 attacks)
Point 6: The Global City and the Poor
Economic globalization has paved the way for
massive inequality.

Poorer segments of the society are being forced

to move farther away from the economic
centers of their cities. 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.