JEROME MARC C.

MONTILLA BSRT-I

Lesson 3A
ACTIVITY# 6 Make a list of cities considered as “Global Cities” and justify how they serve as
engines of globalization.

NEW YORK
New York is, above all, a gathering place where brains and bodies in indecent proximity

to one another create the sparks of genius, invention, progress. Today New Yorkers stand at the

ready, together, and alone, on their stoops and balconies ready to defend their city. From vague

federal threats of defunding. From shadowy armies to keep calls for justice and reform loom over

the city along with an invisible virus. However, the world emerges, evolves or pivots out of our

collective force majeure, it will happen here first. New York is, after all, #1—or thereabouts.

PARIS
-Paris is always a good idea. And now that swimming in the waters of the Seine is a thing

at Bassin de la Villette public pools, even the locals who notoriously leave town in summer are

sticking around. Despite multiple terrorist attacks and the destruction of its iconic cathedral—

seemingly insurmountable disaster and hardship—Paris prevails and comes back brighter.

Amazingly, despite the tragic fire and a year of the Yellow Vest protests that deterred tourists

from visiting the city, Paris matched its 2018 in 2019, with 35.4 million visitors, according to

Statista. 

MOSCOW
-Any traveler to Russia will tell you that Russian influence at least over visitors to the

country’s capital is a very real thing: you will fall under the spell of Moscow the minute you set

foot in this endlessly fascinating and dynamic destination. Moscow is what Travel +

Leisure calls a “revolution of creativity,” giving it an atmosphere of young, free-thinking

exuberance that has touched every aspect of city life, from its art and food scenes to quirky,

only-in-Russia shared workspaces.

JEROME MARC C. MONTILLA BSRT-I

TOKYO
-Despite earthquakes, tsunamis and typhoons, Tokyo grabbed the #1 spot for Safety.

Which is helpful in a place with so much to explore and discover at all hours of the night. Tokyo

continues to mesmerize global visitors with its innovation, efficiency, and round-the-clock

kinetic mobility. It earned the #1 rank in Shopping for its world-class experiences, like Ginza’s

luxury department stores, newly enhanced with the art-bedecked and sharply designed Ginza

SIX shopping center. Tokyo retains the #3 spot for Prosperity globally. That is driven mainly by

a low unemployment rate (ranking #11) and the second-highest number of Global 500

headquarters. Some are household (or at least garage) names: Toyota, Acura, Subaru, Mitsubishi.

But SoftBank, while it funds disruptive start-ups around the world, is also changing Japanese

business, offering rarely seen perks and benefits to its workers. 

BARCELONA
-Barcelona is an almost ideal European city, one with near-perfect weather year-round,

miles and miles of beaches, iconic parks, striking architecture and colorful neighborhoods that

march to their own beat—artistic, sophisticated, bohemian. No wonder it ranks Top 10 in our

Place category, which measures both the natural and built environments of a city. Steeped in

history and wearing its cultural identity proudly on its sleeve, Barcelona is a tourism magnet,

often to the dismay of the many locals who see the crowds as a threat to their city. Barcelona has

led the world in responding with programs aimed at controlling the effects of runaway tourism—

like real estate investors who snatch up apartments only to rent them on Airbnb, depleting an

already limited supply. When the world reemerges from the pandemic, Barcelona’s fifth-most

TripAdvisor reviews among the world’s cities will surely need a somber rewrite.
JEROME MARC C. MONTILLA BSRT-I