Role of Global Cities in the Globalization

Process
• While global cities are products of
globalization,
they have been producers of globalization
– They help shape global economy, politics and
society
– Global cities help produce and accelerate capital
flows,
attract labor and technological upgradationRole
of Global Cities in the Globalization
Process
– Richard Longworth: “Global cities run the
world.”
• “Their banks and markets finance the global economy. Their
corporate headquarters and global business services make the
decisions that shape that economy. Their universities train the
global citizens of the future, while their researchers imagine
that future. Global communications radiate from global cities.
These cities have the finest orchestras and museums, the best
restaurants, the latest fads. Global culture throbs to the
magnetic beat of global cities.”Role of Global Cities
in the Globalization
Process
•
Global cities house major global governance
institutions and host important political
gatherings
and events
•
Global cities are educational and cultural
hubs,
attracting people of different social
backgrounds Challenges Facing Global
Cities
• Class conflict
– Global cities have segmented labor markets in
which
employees of key industries enjoy well-paid and
consumerist lifestyles while a lower stratum of
workers
have less well-paid, more precarious, and less
attractive
positions within the urban economy
– Income polarization