A
global city (also called
world 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
Saskia Sassen in reference to London, New York and Tokyo in her 1991 work
The Global City,
[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]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]
The characteristics sometimes chosen include
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. 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.
