My thoughts regarding the Global City and its Mobility, Community and Diversity

according to ValColic-Peisker

The paper primarily focusses on the topic regarding the global city

including its good and bad side, it’s problem on mobility, and the issues in

community and diversity. According to the author global city has both beneficial

effects and unfavorable effects depending on the nations economic and social status

especially on its capability to attracts foreign interest on economy and how one values

education since it has been one of the greatest sources and field of innovation. The

author has defined the global city using different concepts from different people. Starting

from the general idea that they are the central hub for global capitalism, then to a status

of productive services and financial capability to Moretti’s idea of knowledge of

economy. In this paper, I would like to state my opinions regarding the issues and

relating them to my experience and knowledge as well as relating them to the status

and news in the Philippines.

As the author defined what global city is, I find that the knowledge of economy

as the most accurate definition global city. This is because I feel that this is much

less restraining than the other interpretation and has a lot more potential. The more

there are skilled workers in the city, the less the disadvantages that the city must face.

Like for example, the global city according to the author has a disadvantage that creates

winners and losers which could lead to discrimination while some will be forced to

worked on sweatshops, to robbed tourist or to works as a trafficked sex worker. This

could be avoided if a city has enough skilled workers since this will minimize or
eliminate possibilities that could cause this issues like for example sweatshops would

cease to exist if skilled workers are the majority in the city since this will lessen the

laborers that could work there and force those kind of shops to either evolve from being

a sweatshop to a much more professional workplace that would end as more

demanding. I also feel that the author is really determined and fair to elaborate and

explain the topic since he used different people view regarding the topic of global city

and has also provided credible data from 2011 which census is conducted by the

Australian Bureau of Statistics regarding the percentage of uni-educated to the

unemployed in Australia which is very significant since they provided necessary

information on how knowledge affect the largest cities in Australia.

Though we cannot deny that the cosmopolitan feel in a certain city makes it

feel more a global city especially when there is a presence of foreigners which leads

me to my second paragraph. Philippines has only two global cities in country, Manila

and Taguig city. The first one is where I study while the latter is where I was born and

lived. Between the two I would consider Taguig city as much more to be a global city.

This is maybe because I have visited more locations and know more about it than

Manila. With that being said, I have seen more characteristics of a global city here in

Taguig. The ‘Bonifacio global city’ which is a place here, has high buildings that would

make you feel small which makes you think that this city has a lot more income than the

National Capital Region. The foreigners are also abundant in most of the places near

the global city since most of them stay or live in the condos there along with those who

are financially successful like actresses in the country mostly visit this place. The

diversity in culture give the city the feels of a global city. Unlike Manila the Bonifacio
global city has a much cleaner spaces last time I visited which makes it feel more

professional place. The city has also been hiring a lot more security guard that roam the

city according to my friends that lived there especially those areas that are considered

public.

If there is one supporting idea the author that I would like to contradict, that

would be the idea regarding the openness of a nation’s city to gayness was

primarily linked to the technology’s advancement. This is somehow due to the

influence of social media and technology advancement regarding diseases that are

related to HIV and AIDS. But no matter how social media present the idea of colors or

the LGBT community and the advancement on curing this disease if one’s country

culture and religion is on the way of its progress. This would mean to little on how

technology advancement would affect the openness of a nation to group of people. For

me one of primary reason for a nation to be open to something like this are education

and awareness that would include understanding the peace in diversity. Because if a

certain community despises this type of group of people the openness of the nation

would mostly be affected.

To sum it all up the economy that more skilled workers would help prevent

and lessen the bad effects of the global city due to their ability to progress the city’s

economy and security. Since they would provide a space for innovation and growth that

would limit the growth of illegal activities. Second is that the feeling of a Global city

for me is much more effective when there is a diversity in culture, advancement in

structures and cosmopolitan since I find Taguig to be much more of a global city than

of Manila due to its advancement in structures, markets, presence of many foreigners

and technology. Lastly is that technology is not primarily the caused of the

openness of a nation gayness but the nation belief, culture and democratic opinion

since this would most likely negate the idea when the cure is made regarding the AIDS,

a nation would openly accept the LGBT community.