GLOBAL CITIES

WHY STUDY
GLOBAL CITIES?
1. Globalization is spatial because it occurs in physical
spaces.
2. Globalization is spatial because what makes it move is
the fact that it is based in places.

Cities act on globalization and globalization acts on cities.

They are the sites as well as the mediums of globalization.
Just as the internet enables and shapes global forces, so
too do cities.
WHAT IS
GLOBAL CITY?
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At its core, the term global city is rooted in economics.
Beginning in the 15th century globalization took root

“
and the world’s disparateregional economics began to
converge. As a result, economic hubs began to emerge
in key cities around the world. It is to this phenomena
the term“global city” refers to (Washington,2018)

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Global city, an urban centre that enjoys significant
competitive advantages and that serves as a hub within a
globalized economic system. (Charnaock,n.d)

“ A global city is a significant production point of specialized

financial and producer services that make the globalized
economy run (Renn,2012)

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The rise of global cities has been linked with two globalization-related
trends:
1. The expansion of the role of transnational corporations (TNC’s) in
global production patterns.
2. The decline of mass production along fordist lines and the
concomitant rise of flexible production centere withinn urban areas.
These two trends explain the emergence of networks of certain cities
serving the financial and service requirements of TNC’s while other
cities suffer the consequences of deindustrialization and fail to become
“global.” Global cities are those that therefore become effective
command-and-coordination posts for TNC’s within a globalizing world
economy.
Such cities have also assumed a governance role at the local scale and
within wider configurations of what some commentators have termed
the “globalization” of state institutions.

Globalization refers to processes in which certain national state

functions of organization and administration have been devolved to the
local scale. An example of this would be London. Since the 1980s
London has consolidated its position as a global banking and financial
centre, de-linked from the national economy. (Charnock, n.d)
According to Longworth (2015) , a true global city is balanced between
four pillars of urban life.

1. Civic - an elective city government supported by institutions of civil

society, such as think tanks and foundations, especially those
embedded in the global society.
2. Commercial - a powerful business community with global
connections.
3. Educational – both higher education and K-12.
4. Cultural - the arts and entertainment that give the city its soul.
FUNCTIONS OF GLOBAL CITY
Saskia Sassen says that global cities are “strategic sites” that manage
and guide the global economy. Many of these cities were already centers
forinternational trade and banking. Now, as globalcities, they have four
new functions:

1. As highly concentrated command points in the organization of the

world economy.
2. As key locations of finance and specialized service rms, which
have replacedmanufacturing as the leading economicsectors.
3. As sites of production, including innovation,in these leading sectors.
4. As markets for the products and innovations.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
1. Economic Attributes

First and foremost, global cities are the hubs of the global economy. No
city is a global city unless it is an economic powerhouse, dominant in
finance, trade, manufacturing, or business services. Some cities, such
as London or New York, command several economic sectors.

Others dominate only one sector but, if that sector is globally

important, so is thecity — Los Angeles, for instance, and its
entertainment industry. Other attributes, such as good schools and
culture, are vital components of a global city, but the economy pays for
it all.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
2. Size

For the most part, no city under a million people need apply. San
Francisco and Zurich, with their specialized clout, are included in some
listings, but they’re exceptions. Otherwise, all global cities are big cities
— three million people or more. It takes size to oer all the attributes
needed to be a global city. But note: size isn’t enough.

Some of the world’s biggest cities— Manila, Cairo, Mexico City, Lagos,
Kolkata, and Lima—are nobody’svidea of a global city, and may never
be widely accepted.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY

3. Human Capital

This means having a store house of smart, educated, creative people.

The percentage of the population with a college degree counts. So does
the number of universities and their quality. Any global city must
understand the outside world and have links to it, so its ability to
attract brains from around the world is vital.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
4. K-12 Education

At the upper-wage end of the socio economic scale, this means good
schools for the children of global citizens.

Entrepreneurs and investors will shun a city where their children get a
bad education. At the lower-wage level, this means a solid education for
the army of workers — truckers, cooks, small manufacturing employees,
clerical workers, retail workers —whom a global.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
5. Foreign-born Residents

Tied to human capital is the sheer number of foreign-born residents.

Some are expatriate professionals, living abroad for a job for a
fewyears. Like bees fitting from flower to flower, they are a mobile
source of knowledge of best practices from around the world.

Large immigrant populations are more often poorer and less educated,
but they are both cause and effect of urban vitality. They go to global
cities because that’s where the jobs are and, once there, add their new
blood and verve to that vitality.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
6. Culture

Culture is also a cause and effect of a global city. A strong economy

pays for the museums, universities, symphonies, and theaters that make
a city more than a labor pool.

This is also a draw for global citizens who have a palette of places to
live, work, and do business. And high culture is only asmall part. Good
restaurants are crucial. So are recreation and sporting events. So are
night clubs and wine bars and rock concerts. Global citizens will go to
the place where their brains and education can be.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY

7. Tourism

Because global cities are so big, so vibrant, so much fun, they are
magnets for tourists. Tourists themselves are a major export industry:
theycome from outside to buy what a city has to offer. Then, having
seen the global city firsthand, they take their impressions home with
them, helping to create the buzz that any global city needs.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
8. Political Engagement

This is the interaction between the city’s political structure and therest of
the world. Obviously, national capitals have an advantage — they have
the embassies and international organizations. When foreign leaders
travel abroad, they are more likely to go to Washington than Chicago, or
to Paris than Lyon. But a non-capital global city will have many
consulates and should have major think tanks and a calendar of
international conferences.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY

9. Connectivity

For the most part, this means air and digitalconnections to the rest of
the world. If global cities are where global citizens meet, then a major
airport with a full schedule of nonstop flights to other global cities is
crucial. So is topflight broadband connectivity.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY
10. Globally Attuned Local Leadership

City offcials must understand their cities’ place in the global economy.
Then they must sell this global focus to voters for whom all politics may
be local. This is hard: pro-business policies that draw in global
corporations and global citizens can conflict with policies needed to
provide decent lives for those whom the global economy has left behind.

In addition, cities need to spend heavily to keep their global status.

Global investors can afford these costs, but everyone else — middle
class and working class — may be priced out of town.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY

11. Quality of Life

This includes public transit, the environment, safe streets, good health
care, and efficient and honest local government. A reputation for
corruption, pollution, or crime will damage a city’s competitive power.
ATTRIBUTES OF GLOBAL CITY

12. National Political and Economic Climate

Even global cities are affected by their nations’ policies. Global

corporations deal with national laws on visas, trade, currency
repatriation, export supports, infrastructure investment, and other
policies. For global investors seeking business-friendly environments,
these national negatives can outweigh local positives. Countries that
censor their media or limit digital communications make it harder for
global citizens to live and work there.
• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES

The UN estimates that 55% of the global population lives in

urban areas – a figure that is projected to rise to 68% by 2050.
With few exceptions, cities are expected to become bigger and
more numerous.As urbanization speeds up, particularly in
Asian and African countries, here are five of the biggest
challenges confronting the future of cities:

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• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES
1. Environmental Threats

Rapid urbanization, which strains basic infrastructure, coupled with more

frequent and extreme weather events linked to global climate change is
exacerbating the impact of environmental threats. Common environmental
threats include flooding, tropical cyclones (to which coastal cities are particularly
vulnerable), heat waves and epidemics.
Owing to the physical and population density of cities, such threats often result
in both devastating financial loss and deaths. Making cities more resilient against
these environmental threats is one of the biggest challenges faced by city
23authorities and requires urgent attention.
• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES
2. Resources

Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Urban sprawl
reduces available water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases
demand for energy. While better application of technology can boost agricultural
productivity and ensure more efficient transmission of electricity, many cities
will continue to struggle to provide these resources to an ever-growing urban
population.

Beyond these basic requirements, haphazard growth will see the reduction of
green spaces within cities, negatively affecting liveability. As fresh water becomes
24scarce and fertile lands diminish, food prices may escalate, hitting the poorest
hardest.
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• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES
3. Inequality

When it comes to both the provision of basic resources and resilience against
environmental threats, the forecast is uneven for different groups of urban
inhabitants. As the number of urban super-rich grows, many cities will also see
increased numbers of urban poor.

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots will be accentuated in the
megacities of the future. Such inequalities, when left unchecked, will destabilize
society and upend any benefits of urban development. There is a critical need for
26policy-makers to ensure that the fruits of progress are shared equitably.
• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES
4. Technology

Technology will be increasingly used in the development and running of cities of

the future. Smart planning used in Singapore can harness solar energy for use in
housing estates and create man-made wetlands for ecological balance. Smart
mobility technology can alleviate traffic gridlocks which plague many cities. The
use of environmental technologies which can cool buildings more efficiently or
run vehicles that are less polluting will also lead to better future cities. Installing
sensors in the homes of ageing seniors living alone can connect them to the
community and summon help when they are unwell or hurt.
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• GLOBAL CITIES
CHALLENGES
5. Governance

Future cities offer immense possibilities to enrich the lives of their inhabitants
even as the challenges are stark. To make the best out of inevitable urbanization,
good governance is imperative. Cities will increase in size and their populations
become more diverse. Governing these cities will, therefore, be progressively
complex and require the most dedicated of minds.Increasingly, cities around the
world are learning about the best governance and planning practices from one
another, even as they remain accountable to their respective national
governments. The broad goals of urban governance should address issues of
28equity, liveability and sustainability in cities of the future.
GLOBAL CITIES:
CONCLUSIONS

Global Cities are sites and medium of globalization. They are,

therefore, material representations of the phenomenon.
Through them, we see the best of globalization; they are places
that create exiting fusion of culture and ideas. They are also
places of tremendous wealth. However, they remain sites of
inequality, where global servants serves global entrepreneurs.
The question of how globalization can be made more just is
partly a question of how people make their cities more just.

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ANY QUESTIONS???

REPORTERS:

Romar Miguel T. Mary Melody V. Reyes Noreen Paler Melanie Vicente

Gadgude

30 THANK YOU !!!