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A global city (also called world city or sometimes alpha 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 globalization 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.^[1] The terminology of "global city", as opposed to megacity, is thought to have been first coined by the sociologist Saskia Sassen in reference to her 1991 work, "The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo"^[2] though the term "world city" to describe cities which control a disproportionate amount of global business dates to at least Patrick Geddes' use of the term in 1915.^[3] Cities can fall from being appropriate to such categorization, such as in the case of cities that have become less cosmopolitan, and less internationally renowned in the current era, e.g., Kaliningrad, Russia, Thessaloniki, Greece and Alexandria, Egypt.

Criteria

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'.^[3] Although there is a consensus upon leading world cities,^[4] the criteria upon which a classification is made can affect which other cities are included.^[3] The criteria for identification tend either to be based on a "yardstick value" ("e.g. if the producer-service sector is the largest sector, then city X is a world city")^[3] or on an "imminent determination" ("if the producer-service sector of city X is greater than the producer-service sector of N other cities, then city X is a world city").^[3]

Economic characteristics

The New York Stock Exchange

• Corporate headquarters for multinational corporations, international financial institutions, law firms, conglomerates, and stock exchanges that have influence over the world economy.
• Significant financial capacity/output: city/regional^[5] GDP^[6]
• Stock market indices^[7]/market capitalisation
• Financial service provision;^[8] e.g., banks, accountancy
• Costs of living^[9] personal wealth; e.g., number of billionaires^[10]

Political characteristics

The Palace of Westminster

• Active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs; for example, Washington, Beijing, Berlin, Brussels are major capitals of influential nations or unions.
• Hosting headquarters for international organizations (World Bank), NATO headquarters
• A large proper, population of the municipality (the centre of a metropolitan area, typically several million) or agglomeration
• Diverse demographic constituencies^[11] based on various indicators:^[12] population, habitat,^[13] mobility,^[14] and urbanisation^[15]
• Quality of life standards^[16] or city development^[17]
• Expatriate communities

Cultural characteristics

The Louvre in Paris

• International, first-name familiarity; whereby a city is recognized without the need for a political subdivision. For example, New York City is commonly referred to as just "New York" even though the city is in the state of New York.
• Renowned cultural institutions (often with high endowments), such as notable museums and galleries, notable opera, orchestras, notable film centres and theatre centres. A lively cultural scene, including film festivals (such as the Toronto International Film Festival), premieres, a thriving music scene, nightlife, an opera company, art galleries, and street performers, annual parades.
• Several 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.^[18]
• Educational institutions; e.g., universities,^[19] international student attendance,^[20] research facilities
• Sites of pilgrimage for world religions (for example, Jerusalem or Rome)
• Cities containing World Heritage Sites of historical and cultural significance^[21]
• Tourism throughput
• City as site or subject in Arts and Media, television, film, video games, music, literature, magazines, articles, documentary
• City as an often repeated historic reference, showcase, or symbolic actions

Infrastructural characteristics

Shinkansen at Tokyo station

• An advanced transportation system that includes several highways and/or a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail, ferry, or bus).
• Extensive and popular^[22] mass transit systems, prominent rail usage,^[23] road vehicle usage,^[24] major seaports^[25]
• A major international airport that serves as an established hub for several international airlines, for example, London. Airports with significant passenger traffic and international passengers traffic.^[26] or cargo movements
• 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. For example, Seoul and Tokyo are known as the digital and technology capitals of the world.
• Health facilities; e.g. hospitals, medical laboratories
• Prominent skylines/skyscrapers (for example Shanghai or Hong Kong)^[27]

Studies

GaWC studies

Alfa (Alpha) World Cities 2008

One of the first attempts to define, categorize, and rank global cities was made in 1998 by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) based at the geography department of Loughborough University, United Kingdom. The roster was outlined in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 and ranked cities based on their provision of "advanced producer services" such as accountancy, advertising, finance, and law.^[4] The GaWC inventory identifies three levels of global cities and several sub-ranks. This roster generally denotes cities in which there are offices of certain multinational corporations providing financial and consulting services rather than denoting other cultural, political, and economic centres.

The 2004 rankings acknowledged several new indicators while continuing to rank city economics more heavily than political or cultural factors. The 2008 roster, similar to the 1998 version is sorted into categories of "Alpha" world cities (with four sub-categories), "Beta" world cities (three sub-categories), "Gamma" world cities (three sub-categories), and cities with "High sufficiency" or "Sufficiency" world city presence.

The 2008 roster of leading Alpha, Beta and Gamma World Cities is reproduced below; see the source for the complete roster:^[28][29]

Alpha World Cities ++:

• New York City, London

Alpha World Cities +:

• Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Shanghai, Beijing

Alpha World Cities:

• Milan, Madrid, Seoul, Moscow, Brussels, Toronto, Mumbai, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur

Alpha World Cities –:

• Warsaw, São Paulo, Jakarta, Zurich, Mexico City, Dublin, Amsterdam, Bangkok, Taipei, Rome, Istanbul, Lisbon, Chicago, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Vienna, Budapest, Athens, Prague, Caracas, Auckland, Santiago

Beta World Cities +:

• Melbourne, Barcelona, Los Angeles, Johannesburg, Manila, Bogotá, New Delhi, Atlanta, Washington D.C., Tel Aviv, Bucharest, San Francisco, Helsinki, Berlin, Dubai, Oslo, Geneva, Riyadh, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Cairo

Beta World Cities:

• Bangalore, Jeddah, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Munich, Kiev, Dallas, Lima, Boston, Miami

Beta World Cities –:

• Sofia, Düsseldorf, Houston, Beirut, Guangzhou, Nicosia, Karachi, Montevideo, Rio de Janeiro, Nairobi, Bratislava, Montreal, Ho Chi Minh City

Gamma World Cities +:

• Panama City, Casablanca, Chennai, Brisbane, Quito, Stuttgart, Denver, Vancouver, Zagreb, Guatemala City, Cape Town, San José, Ljubljana, Minneapolis, Santo Domingo, Seattle, Manama, Shenzhen

Gamma World Cities:

• Guadalajara, Antwerp, Kolkata, Rotterdam, Lagos, Philadelphia, Perth, Amman, Manchester, Rīga, Detroit, Guayaquil, Wellington, Portland

Gamma World Cities –:

• Porto, Edinburgh, Tallinn, San Salvador, St. Petersburg, Port Louis, San Diego, Calgary, Almaty, Birmingham, Islamabad, Doha, Vilnius, Colombo

Global Cities Index

In October 2008, the American journal Foreign Policy, in conjunction with consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, published a ranking of global cities, based on consultation with Saskia Sassen, Witold Rybczynski, and others. Foreign Policy noted that "the world’s biggest, most interconnected cities help set global agendas, weather transnational dangers, and serve as the hubs of global integration. They are the engines of growth for their countries and the gateways to the resources of their regions."^[30]

The rankings are based on the evaluation of 24 metrics in five areas: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. The top thirty of the 60 cities ranked were:

Global Power City Index

The Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation in Tokyo, Japan issued a comprehensive study of global cities in October 2009. The ranking is based on six overall categories, "Economy," "Research & Development," "Cultural Interaction," "Livability," "Ecology & Natural Environment," and "Accessibility," with 69 individual indicators among them.^[31] This Japanese ranking also breaks down top ten world cities ranked in subjective categories such as "manager, researcher, artist, visitor and resident."

Following positions and scores:

21. Shanghai (224.1), 22. Chicago (221.1), 23. Vancouver (219.1), 24. San Francisco (218.1), 25. Osaka (215.1), 26. Beijing (211.4), 27. Kuala Lumpur (204.1), 28. Milan (203.5), 29. Bangkok (199.1), 30. Fukuoka (196.5), 31. Taipei (195.9), 32. Moscow (179.5), 33. São Paulo (177.7), 34. Mumbai (165.5), 35. Cairo (132.2)

Cities ranked by category

See also

• Financial centre
• Metropolis
• Megalopolis (city type)
• Primate city
• Ecumenopolis

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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