GLOBAL CITY RESEARCH

Saskia Sassen, a sociologist, coined the term "global city" in her book The Global City (1991). In it,
he uses the term "megacities" to refer to London, Tokyo, Paris, and New York rather than "megacities."
(Collaborative Research Group (CRG) USA, n.d.). The global city is a city that has political influence
internationally with multinational corporations and non-government organizations. They have an influence
on mass media globally as well as developed communication and transportation system. (Sociology
Dictionary.org, n.d.). Additionally, a global city is an urban center that has significant competitive
advantages and serves as a hub in a globalized economic system. The term derives from city research
conducted in the 1980s, which examined the common characteristics of the world's most important cities.
A global city is one that has the ability to influence global issues and alter the global outlook. They can do
this by controlling and adapting the global economy's path through a variety of systems ranging from
politics to military and economics. (FindAnyAnswer.com, 2020). London and New York City have the
biggest contribution along with the small contributions: Los Angeles, Paris, and San Francisco.

The main challenges for global cities are those related to balancing local and global pressures. The
cosmopolitan, fast-paced, and delocalized worlds of telecommunications and global finance collide with
the more domestic, traditional, and indigenous world of the local in them. Globalization has a dual impact
on the communities that are affected by it. On the one hand, it promotes a consumerist cosmopolitanism
based on multilateral business models. However, it inspires a return to the values of nationalism, ethnicism,
xenophobia, and fascism. On the other hand, following the attacks in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the United
States, paranoia about the possible omnipresence of terrorists has been unleashed. As a result, global cities
are constantly under international threat and, as a result, must be constantly monitored and supervised.

Gentrification is a process in which a poor area (as of a city) sees an influx of middle-class or wealthy
people who renovate and rebuild homes and businesses, resulting in an increase in property values and the
displacement of earlier, usually poorer residents. Banlieue is a city's outskirts' residential area (Merriam-
Webster, n.d.). A Shanty House is a structure inhabited by vagrants and/or squatters that is typically
constructed from gathered materials, for example (sheets of metal, plywood, plastic, cardboard etc.). It is a
home built with the homeless, by the homeless, and for the homeless. (ShmexyHoneySAuce, 2019).

Urban Slums are a household and a group of individuals living under the same roof in an urban area who
lack one or more of the following:

1. Durable housing of a permanent nature that protects against extreme climate conditions.

2. Sufficient living space which means no more than three people sharing the same room.

3. Easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price.

4. Access to adequate sanitation in the form of a private or public toilet shared by a reasonable number of
people.

5. Security of tenure that prevents forced evictions.

References
Collaborative Research Group (CRG) USA. (n.d.). Retrieved from crgsoft.com: https://crgsoft.com/global-
city-what-is-it-types-characteristics-and-examples/

FindAnyAnswer.com. (2020, February 29). Retrieved from FindAnyAnswer:

https://findanyanswer.com/what-are-the-examples-of-global-city

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Retrieved from meriam-webster.com: https://www.merriam-

webster.com/dictionary/gentrification

ShmexyHoneySAuce. (2019, December 21). Urban Dictionary. Retrieved from urbandictionary.com:

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Shanty%20House

Sociology Dictionary.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from Open Education Sociology Disctionary:

https://sociologydictionary.org/global-city/