Global cities

• Global city


  A city that is a core or center of global finance and capitalism, with economic power and influence that extends beyond its borders
• Attributes of a global city

  • Economic power
  • Centers of authority (political influence)
  • Centers of higher learning and culture
• Defining a global city can be difficult
• Criteria for determining a global city

  • Market size
  • Purchasing power of citizens
  • Size of the middle class
  • Potential for growth
• Singapore is considered Asia's most competitive city due to its strong market, efficient and incorruptible government, and livability
• Washington DC is not as wealthy as New York but is the seat of American state power
• A city's intellectual influence is seen through the influence of its publishing industry
• Los Angeles is the center of the American film industry, making it a global city
• Copenhagen is considered a global city due to its status as a culinary capital
• Manchester, England is considered a global city due to its prominence in post-punk and new wave music
• Singapore is becoming a cultural center for Southeast Asia, with its TV stations, news organizations, art galleries, and cinemas showcasing works from the region
• Global cities become culturally diverse, allowing people to experience cuisines from different parts of the world
• Singapore is slowly becoming a cultural center for the region
• Singapore houses some of the region's top television stations and news organizations
• Singapore has various art galleries and cinemas that also show paintings from artists and filmmakers from the Philippines and Thailand
• Global cities become culturally diverse
• Cuisines from different parts of the world

  • German cuisine
  • Japanese cuisine
  • Turkish cuisine
• Manila is not considered a global city as of now due to a shortage of foreign residents
• Singapore is considered a global city because it has a foreign population of 38%
• Globalization


  Occurs in physical spaces, with more people driven out of city centers to make way for new developments
• Globalization is based in places, with cities being both the sites and mediums of globalization
• Challenges of global cities

  • Sites of great inequality and poverty
  • Tremendous violence
  • Create winners and losers
• Density


  Compact or crowded settlements that yield energy savings
• Extensive public transportation systems in cities


  People tend to drive less and cut carbon emissions
• Not all cities are as dense as New York or Tokyo, with some like Los Angeles being urban sprawls that force residents to rely on cars and contribute to high energy consumption and carbon emissions
• Vertical farming in abandoned buildings is a way to grow more food in cities instead of importing from other countries
• Major terror attacks in recent years have targeted global cities with influence
• Massive inequality is pronounced in cities, but some in Scandinavia have found ways to mitigate it through state-led social distribution programs
• Many developing country cities have gleaming buildings alongside massive shanty towns, reflecting inequality
• Gentrification - The phenomenon of driving out the poor in favor of newer, wealthier residents 

• The middle class is thinning out in global cities as globalization creates high-income jobs concentrated there
• Global cities generate demand for an unskilled labor force to meet their increasing needs
• Global cities may be a paradise for some but a purgatory for others due to inequality
• Advantages of living in a global city

  • Better medical facilities
  • More job opportunities
  • More restaurants
• Disadvantages of living in a global city

  • Overcrowding
  • Higher noise levels
  • Higher costs of living
• Global cities are both the sites and mediums of globalization, representing its best and worst aspects