A global city, also known as a power city, world city, alpha city, or world center, is a city that serves as a primary node in the global economic network. The concept originates from geography and urban studies, based on the thesis that globalization has created a hierarchy of strategic geographic locations with varying degrees of influence over finance, trade, and culture worldwide. [1] The global city represents the most complex and significant hub within the international system, characterized by links binding it to other cities that have direct, tangible effects on global socioeconomic affairs. [2]
The criteria of a global city have varied over time and depending on the source; [3] common features include a high degree of urban development, a large population, the presence of major multinational companies, a significant and globalized financial sector, well-developed and internationally linked transportation infrastructure, local or national economic dominance, high quality educational and research institutions, and a globally influential output of ideas, innovations, or cultural products. Quintessential examples, based on most indices and research, include New York City, London, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul and Sydney. [4]
The term global city was popularized by sociologist Saskia Sassen in her 1991 book, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. [5] Before then, other terms were used for urban centers with roughly the same features. The term world city, meaning a city heavily involved in global trade, appeared in a May 1886 description of Liverpool, by The Illustrated London News ; [6] British sociologist and geographer Patrick Geddes used the term in 1915. [7] The term megacity entered common use in the late 19th or early 20th century, the earliest known example being a publication by the University of Texas in 1904. [8] In the 21st century, the terms are usually focused on a city's financial power and high technology infrastructure. [9] [10]
Competing groups have devised competing means to classify and rank world cities and to distinguish them from non-world cities. [7] Although there is a consensus on the leading world cities, [12] the chosen criteria affect which other cities are included. [7] Selection criteria may be based on a yardstick value (e.g., if the producer-service sector is the largest sector then city X is a world city) [7] or on an imminent determination (if the producer-service sector of city X is greater than the combined producer-service sectors of N other cities then city X is a world city.) [7] Cities' rankings can fall, as in the case of cities that have become less cosmopolitan and less internationally renowned.
Although criteria are variable and fluid, these are typical characteristics of world cities: [13]
Global city rankings are numerous, with one study suggesting as many as 300 global cities worldwide. [16] New York City, London, Tokyo, and Paris are notably the most prominent metropolises mentioned in this respect. [17] [18] They have been ranked in the top four positions in the Global Cities Index and Global Power City Index since both indices' inception in 2008, with New York and London rotating for the first position over the last ten years exclusively in the top two spots.
Jon Beaverstock, Richard G. Smith, and Peter J. Taylor established the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC). A list of world cities in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 is ranked by their connectivity through four "advanced producer services": accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law. [12] The GaWC inventory identifies three levels of global cities and several sub-ranks, [20] although the authors caution that "concern for city rankings operates against the spirit of the GaWC project" [emphasis in original]. [21]
The 2004 rankings added several new indicators while continuing to rank city-economics more heavily than political and cultural factors. The 2008 version of the list, similar to the 1998 version, is sorted into categories of Alpha world cities (with four sub-categories), Beta world cities (three sub-categories), Gamma world cities (three sub-categories), and cities with High sufficiency and Sufficiency presence. The cities in the top three classifications in the 2020 edition are as follows: [22]
In 2008, the American journal Foreign Policy , working with the consulting firm A.T. Kearney and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, published a ranking of global cities based on consultation with Saskia Sassen, Witold Rybczynski, and others. [23] Foreign Policy noted that "the world's biggest, most interconnected cities help set global agendas, weather transnational dangers, and serve as the hubs of global integration. They are the engines of growth for their countries and the gateways to the resources of their regions." [24] The ranking is based on 27 metrics across five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. [25] Since 2015, it has been published with a separate index, the Global Cities Outlook, which is a projection of a city's potential based on rate of change in 13 indicators across four dimensions: personal well-being, economics, innovation, and governance. The top ranked cities in 2023 are listed below: [26]
In 2012, the Economist Intelligence Unit (The Economist Group) ranked the competitiveness of global cities according to their demonstrated ability to attract capital, businesses, talent, and visitors. [27]
A study by Brookings Institution conducted in 2016 introduced its own typology, sorting global cities into seven categories: Global Giants, Asian Anchors, Emerging Gateways, Factory China, Knowledge Capitals, American Middleweights, and International Middleweights. [28]
The Global Giants classification includes wealthy, extremely large metropolitan areas that are the largest cities in developed nations. They are hubs for financial markets and major corporations, and serve as key nodes in global flows of capital and of talent.
An analysis report compiled by the Global City Lab of the Global Top 500 Cities was released in New York on 30 December 2021. [29]
The top 10 of the "2021 Global Top 500 Cities" by brand value were as follows:
The Global Economic Power Index reflecting three dimensions of economic power was introduced in 2012. [30] In 2015, the second Global Economic Power Index, a meta list compiled by Richard Florida, was published by The Atlantic (distinct from a namesake list [31] published by the Martin Prosperity Institute), with city composite rank based on five other lists. [31] [32]
The top 10 global cities in 2015 were as follows:
Strength as a financial center has become one of the pre-eminent indicators of a global city's ranking. As of 2024, [33] the cities representing the top ten financial centers according to the Global Financial Centres Index by the think tank China Development Institute and analytics firm Z/Yen were: [34]
The Tokyo-based Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation, issued a comprehensive study of global cities in 2008. They are ranked in six categories: economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, and accessibility, with 70 individual indicators among them. The top ten world cities are also ranked by subjective categories, including manager, researcher, artist, visitor and resident. [35]
The top 10 cities in the 2023 Global Power City Index were: [35]
"The Wealth Report" (a global perspective on prime property and wealth) is made by the London-based estate agent Knight Frank LLP and the Citi Private Bank. The report includes a "Global Cities Survey", evaluating which cities are considered the most important to the world's HNWIs (high-net-worth individuals, having over $25 million of investable assets each). For the Global Cities Survey, Citi Private Bank's wealth advisors, and Knight Frank's luxury property specialists were asked to name the cities that they considered the most important to HNWIs, in regard to "economic activity", "political power", "knowledge and influence", and "quality of life". [36] [37]
Most important cities to UHNWIs in 2022: [38]
A study by ING Media, a London-based built environment communications firm, has ranked 250 global cities by total online mentions across social media and online news for 2019. It found that a fifth of digital mentions were for Tokyo, New York City, London, and Paris, identifying these as the world's super brands. [39] [40] The Top 10 in the 2019 edition were: [41]
City | GaWC 2020 [22] | Mori 2023 [35] | A.T. Kearney 2023 [26] | Global City Lab 2021 [42] | ING Most Talked 2019 [41] | CASS&UNHSP 2020 [43] | Knight Frank 2022 [38] | GFCI 2024 [33] |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New York City | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
London | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
Paris | 8 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
Tokyo | 9 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
Singapore | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 18 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
Los Angeles | 11 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
Hong Kong | 3 | 18 | 10 | 10 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 4 |
Shanghai | 5 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 6 |
Beijing | 6 | 17 | 5 | 13 | 19 | 21 | 10 | 15 |
Chicago | 19 | 25 | 11 | 22 | 14 | 32 | 6 | 9 |
Toronto | 12 | 23 | 15 | 8 | 16 | 57 | 9 | 25 |
Seoul | 26 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 25 | 30 | 10 |
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan and one of the most populous cities in the world with a population of over 14 million residents as of 2023. The Tokyo metropolitan area, which includes Tokyo and nearby prefectures, is the world's most-populous metropolitan area with 40.8 million residents as of 2023, and is the second-largest metropolitan economy in the world after New York, with a 2022 gross metropolitan product estimated at US$2.08 trillion.
Changsha is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, and the third-most populous city in Central China, located in the lower reaches of the Xiang River in northeastern Hunan. Changsha is also called Xingcheng and was once named Linxiang, Tanzhou, and Qingyang (青阳) in ancient times. It is also known as Shanshuizhoucheng (山水洲城), with the Xiang River flowing through it, containing Mount Yuelu and Orange Isle. The city forms a part of the Greater Changsha Metropolitan Region along with Zhuzhou and Xiangtan, also known as Changzhutan City Cluster. Greater Changsha was named one of the 13 emerging mega-cities in China in 2012 by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It is also a National Comprehensive Transportation Hub, and one of the first National Famous Historical and Cultural Cities in China. Changshanese, a kind of Xiang Chinese, is spoken in the downtown, while Ningxiangnese and Liuyangnese are also spoken in the counties and cities under its jurisdiction. As of the 2020 Chinese census, the prefecture-level city of Changsha had a population of 10,047,914 inhabitants.
China Construction Bank Corporation (CCB) is one of the "big four" banks in China. In 2015, CCB was the 2nd largest bank in the world by market capitalization and 6th largest company in the world. The bank has approximately 13,629 domestic branches. In addition, it maintains overseas branches in London, Barcelona, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, New York City, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, Melbourne, Kuala Lumpur, Santiago de Chile, Brisbane, Sydney and Auckland. Its total assets reached CN¥ 8.7 trillion in 2009, and it is considered a systemically important bank by the Financial Stability Board. Its headquarters is in Xicheng District, Beijing.
The Singapore Management University (SMU) is a public university in Singapore. Founded in 2000, SMU is the third oldest autonomous university in the country, modelling its education after the Wharton School. The university is triple accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA.
Bank of Communications Co., Ltd. (BOCOM), is the fifth-largest bank in mainland China.
Saskia Sassen is a Dutch-American sociologist noted for her analyses of globalization and international human migration. She is a professor of sociology at Columbia University in New York City, and the London School of Economics. The term global city was coined and popularized by Sassen in her 1991 work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.
Addleshaw Goddard LLP is an international law firm headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. It is structured as a fully integrated LLP and has circa 1,600 lawyers including 380 partners in 19 offices located in Aberdeen, Berlin, Doha, Dubai, Dublin, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Leeds, London, Luxembourg, Manchester, Munich, Muscat, Paris, Riyadh, Singapore and Tokyo. The firm advises FTSE 100 and other major companies across corporate, commercial, finance and project, real estate and litigation business divisions with specialist fields such as private capital; energy, financial services, health and life sciences, real estate, retail and consumer, construction and transport sectors; and has a strong interest in tech.
The Central University of Finance and Economics is a national public finance and economics university located in Beijing, China. Affiliated with the Ministry of Education of China, the university is co-sponsored by the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, and the Beijing Municipal People's Government. The university is part of the Double First-Class Construction and Project 211.
A financial centre or financial hub is a location with a significant concentration of participants in banking, asset management, insurance, and financial markets, with venues and supporting services for these activities to take place. Participants can include financial intermediaries, institutional investors, and issuers. Trading activity can take place on venues such as exchanges and involve clearing houses, although many transactions take place over-the-counter (OTC), directly between participants. Financial centres usually host companies that offer a wide range of financial services, for example relating to mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, or corporate actions; or which participate in other areas of finance, such as private equity, hedge funds, and reinsurance. Ancillary financial services include rating agencies, as well as provision of related professional services, particularly legal advice and accounting services.
The economy of London is dominated by service industries, particularly financial services and associated professional services, which have strong links with the economy in other parts of the United Kingdom (UK) and internationally. In addition to being the capital city of the United Kingdom, London is one of the world's leading financial centres for international business and commerce and is one of the "command centres" for the global economy.
The following are international rankings of Thailand.
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The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) is a ranking of the competitiveness of financial centres based on over 29,000 financial centre assessments from an online questionnaire together with over 100 indices from organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), and the Economist Intelligence Unit. The first index was published in March 2007. It has been jointly published twice per year by Z/Yen Group in London and the China Development Institute in Shenzhen since 2015, and is widely quoted as a top source for ranking financial centres.
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NyLon is the concept of New York City and London as twin cities—the financial, commercial and cultural capitals of the Anglo-American world. There is a community of high-earning professionals who commute between these cities on the busy transatlantic air route. To satisfy the tastes of this common community, businesses such as Time Out and Conran establish branches in both cities.
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. GaWC was founded by Peter J. Taylor in 1998. Together with Jon Beaverstock and Richard G. Smith, they create the GaWC's biennial categorization of world cities into "Alpha", "Beta" and "Gamma" tiers, based upon their international connectedness.
The Global Liveability rank Ranking is a yearly assessment published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), ranking 172 global cities for their urban quality of life based on assessments of stability, healthcare, culture and environment, education and infrastructure. Austria's capital, Vienna, was ranked the most liveable city in 2023 and 2022 among the 172 cities surveyed by The Economist Intelligence Unit, having previously won in 2019 and 2018, and came second in 2017 and 2016. Auckland was ranked the most liveable city in 2021. Melbourne, Australia, was ranked by the EIU as the world's most liveable city for seven years in a row, from 2011 to 2017.
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Our new ranking puts the Big Apple firmly on top.