Lesson 8

THE GLOBAL CITY

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
AT THE OF THE LESSON, YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO :

1.EXPLAIN WHY GLOBALIZATION IS A SPATIAL

PHENOMENON;

2.IDENTIFY THE ATTRIBUTES OF A GLOBAL CITI; AND

3.ANALYZE HOW CITIES SERVE AS ENGINES OF

GLOBALIZATION
WHY STUDY THE GLOBAL CITIES?
IF YOU HAVE A CHANCE WOULD YOU MOVE
TO NEWYORK? TOKYO? HOW ABOUT
SEOUL?
GLOBAL CITY
•SOCIOLOGIST SASKIA SASSEN
POPULARIZED THE TERM
“GLOBAL CITY” IN THE 1990's

•SHE INITIALLY IDENTIFIED

THREE GLOBAL CITIES: NEW
YORK, LONDON AND TOKYO.

•NEW YORK HAS THE NEW

YORK STOCK EXCHANGE
(NYSE), LONDON HAS THE
FINANCIAL TIMES STOCK
EXCHANGE (FTSE),AND
TOKYO HAS THE NIKKEI.
GLOBAL CITY
•RECENT COMMENTATION HAVE EXPANDED THE
CRITERIA THAT SASSEN USED TO DETERMINE WHAT
CONSTITUTES A GLOBAL CITY.
•MOVIE-MAKING MECCA LOS ANGELES CAN NOW RIVAL
THE BIG APPLE'S CULTURAL INFLUENCE.

•SAN FRANCISCO MUST NOW FACTOR IN AS ANOTHER

GLOBAL CITY BECAUSE IT IS THE HOME OF THE MOST
POWERFUL INTERNET COMPANIES— FACEBOOK,
TWITTER AND GOOGLE.

•THE GROWTH OF THE CHINESE ECONOMY HAS

TURNED CITIES LIKE SHANGHAI, BEIJING, AND
GUANGZHOU INTO THE CENTER OF TRADE AND
FINANCE.
WHY STUDY THE GLOBAL CITIES?
GLOBALIZATION IS SPATIAL WHICH MEANS:

1. GLOBALIZATION IS SPATIAL BECAUSE IT OCCURS IN

PHYSICAL SPACES. MORE PEOPLE ARE DRIVEN OUT OF
CITY CENTERS TO MAKE WAY FOR THE NEW
DEVELOPMENTS.

2. GLOBALIZATION IS SPATIAL BECAUSE WHAT

MAKES IT MOVE IS THE FACT THAT IT IS BASED IN
PLACES.
INDICATORS FOR GLOBALITY
WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTES OF A GLOBAL
CITY?
1.ECONOMIC POWER

2.ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

3.ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS

4.CENTER OF AUTHORITY

5.POLITICAL INFLUENCE

6.CENTER OF HIGHER LEARNING AND CULTURE

THE CHALLENGES OF GLOBAL CITIES
•GLOBAL CITIES ALSO HAVE THEIR UNDERSIDES. THEY
CAN BE SITES OF GREAT INEQUALITY AND POVERTY AS
WELL AS TREMENDOUS VIOLENCE.
•GLOBAL CITIES CREATE WINNERS AND LOSERS.

•DENSER SETTLEMENT PATTERNS YIELD ENERGY

SAVINGS; APARTMENT FOR EXAMPLE ARE MORE
EFFICIENT TO HEAT AND COOL THAN DETACHED
SUBURBAN HOUSE.

•IN CITIES WITH EXTENSIVE PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

SYSTEMS, PEOPLE TEND TO DRIVE LESS AND THEREBY
CUT CARBON EMISSIONS.
•NOT ALL CITIES ARE AS DENSE AS NEW YORK OR
TOKYO. SOME CITIES LIKE LOS ANGELES ARE URBAN
SPRAWLS, WITH MASSIVE FREEWAYS THAT FORCE
RESIDENTS TO SPEND MONEY ON CARS AND GAS.

•URBAN AREAS CONSUME MOST OF THE WORLD'S

ENERGY. CITIES ONLY COVER 2% OF THE WORLD'S
LANDMASS BUT THEY CONSUME 78% OF GLOBAL
ENERGY. THEREFORE, IF CARBON EMISSIONS MUST
BE CUT TO PREVENT GLOBAL WARMING, THIS
MASSIVE ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN CITIES MUST BE
CURBED.
•THE MAJOR TERROR ATTACKS OF RECENT YEARS
HAVE ALSO TARGETED CITIES. CITIES, ESPECIALLY
THOSE WITH GLOBAL INFLUENCE ARE OBVIOUS
TARGETS FOR TERRORISTS.

✓ 9/11 ATTACK- WORLD TRADE CENTER, NEW YORK

✓ NOVEMBER 2015 ATTACKS IN PARIS BY ISLAMIC
STATE OF IRAQ AN THE LEVENT (ISIL)
THE GLOBAL CITY AND THE POOR

•MASSIVE INEQUALITY WAS VERY PRONOUNCED IN

CITIES. SOME LARGE CITIES, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN
SCANDINAVIA, HAVE FOUND WAYS TO MITIGATE
INEQUALITY THROUGH STATE-LED SOCIAL
REDISTRIBUTION PROGRAMS. YET, MANY CITIES,
PARTICULARLY THOSE IN THE DEVELOPING
COUNTRIES, ARE SITES CONTRADICTION.

•IN PLACES LIKE MUMBAI, JAKARTA, AND MANILA, IT IS

COMMON TO FIND GLEAMING BUILDINGS ALONGSIDE
MASSIVE SHANTYTOWNS.
•IN THE OUTSKIRTS OF NEW YORK AND SAN
FRANCISCO ARE POOR URBAN ENCLAVES OCCUPIED
BY AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND IMMIGRANT FAMILIES
WHO ARE OFTEN DENIED OPPORTUNITIES AT A BETTER
LIFE.

GENTRIFICATION— A PHENOMENON OF DRIVING OUT

THE POOR IN FAVOR OF NEWER, WEALTHIER
RESIDENTS.

•IN AUSTRALIAN CITIES, POOR ABORIGINAL

AUSTRALIANS HAVE BEEN MOST ACUTELY AFFECTED
BY GENTRIFICATION.
•IN FRANCE, POOR MUSLIM MIGRANTS ARE FORCED
OUT OF PARIS AND HAVE CLUSTERED AROUND ETHNIC
ENCLAVES KNOWN AS BANLIEUE.

•IN MOST OF THE WORLD'S GLOBAL CITIES, THE

MIDDLE CLASS IS ALSO THINNING OUT.
GLOBALIZATION CREATES HIGH-INCOME JOBS THAT
ARE CONCENTRATED IN GLOBAL CITIES.

•IN PLACES LIKE NEW YORK, THERE ARE HIGH-

ROLLING AMERICAN INVESTMENT BANKERS WHOSE
CHILDREN ARE RAISED BY FILIPINA MAIDS.
CONCLUSION
GLOBAL CITIES ARE SITES AND MEDIUMS OF
GLOBALIZATION. THEY ARE MATERIAL
REPRESENTATION OF THE PHENOMENON.
THROUGH THEM, WE SEE THE BEST OF
GLOBALIZATION; THEY ARE PLACES THAT
CREATE EXCITING FUSIONS OF CULTURE AND
IDEAS. THEY ARE ALSO PLACES THAT GENERATE
TREMENDOUS WEALTH. HOWEVER, THEY REMAIN
SITES OF GREAT INEQUALITY, WHERE GLOBAL
SERVANTS SERVE GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURS.