World Cities Flashcards
What is the nature of world cities
- Command and control center’s of the increasingly integrated global economy
- Not largest cities according to population
- Hold economic and cultural authority globally
- Control the flow of information, cultural products and finance
- Centre of TNCs
- Has outstripped its national urban networks and has become apart of an international global system
Worldcities are cities which have outstripped its national boarders and have become comand and control centres of the international system and flow of idea, finance, culture.
What are dominance world cities
Command and Control center’s of global function e.g. NYC, Tokyo, London, Paris
What are major world cities
Cities that link large economies into the global system or have important multinational roles e.g. Sydney, LA, Singapore, Bejing
What are Secondary world cities
cities that bring important regional economies into the system e.g. Toronto, Milian, Chicago
What is the character of world cities (10)
- Disproportionate Financial and business center’s (areas of TNC headquarters and highly educated workers)
- Centre of prestige and distinctive lifestyle (architecture, expensive businesses, entertainment)
- Transport and communication hub (air connections, media, rail systems)
- Major tourist attraction
- Developed
- High multiculturalism and diversity (attract people internationally)
- ‘organising nodes’ which link regional, national and international economies into the global economy.
- Leaders in investment, finance, foreign exchange
- Most powerful and internationally influential media organisation (fox news, New York Times)
- World leading educational institutions, research, areas of new ideas
What is the spatial distribution of world cities (5)
- Europe and Asia (close to other countries for trade, and fast development, largest economies)
- Developed countries (technology, economy, transport, internet networks)
- Coastal/ bodies of water (trade, Thames London, Seine Paris, Hudson river NY, Tokyo Harbor)
- Rich North (distribution of developed and rich countries)
- Temperate climates
Why do world cities have dominance
World Cities have emerged as an outcome of the globalisation of economic activity , driven by
- technological developments in transport and communication
- trade liberalisation
- emergence of information based new economy
- emergence of outsourcing of business related services
- emergence of TNCs
These developments contributed to the rapid expansion of world trade, where labour intensive manufacturing processes were relocated to developing countries in turn world cities have moved beyond the national scale to become increasingly apart of the internationalisation of economic activity.
Globalisation has spread the power of world cities to an international extent through networks (TNC, media, transport ect.) - estabishing an urban hierarchy where world cities are now the most influencial and dominate international networks, and other seconadry cities are reliant upon them and influenced by them
Why are world cities financial centres with stock exchanges (5)
- They control the flow of money, business decision and setting market trends
- all major stock exchange are located in world cities indicating their economic authority and position in the global hierarchy
- centers of banking and associated financial services
- dominate flows of capital - in a global network of transactions
- high stock market attracts more investors and infrastructure projects, perpetuating their command and control
What is the example of world cities being financial centers (3)
Snap Chat NYC - $15.5 billion
Dow Jones NYC - $4221 B #1 Equities and gov bonds - $9.6 trillion market cap
NewYork Wall street = most influencial - Wall Street Crash of 1929 catalysed an international economic depression inpacting the economies of other countries
FTSE Index (London) - $1200B #1 Foreign exchange and insurance - $3.6 trillion, market cap
Nikkei Average In (Tokyo) $290 Billion #7 top bank
Headquarters of TNC who increasingly advanced producer services give WC economic authority
The TNCS dominate decision making and trade. The headquarters increase the space and opportunities for key people to gather information and develop networks providing conditions for innovations.
Over half global trade is between or within TNCs
Example of headquarters of TNC who increasingly advanced producer services - economic authority
HSBC - British multinational banking and financial services company headquarters in London
Worth $147 billion
$2.3 trillion assets
40, 000 offices globally - networks
JP Morgan Chase - American financial service firm headquarters in NYC
$3.3 trillion in assest
Largest Bank in America
fortune 500 company
Operated in 60 countries - serves millions of consumers, small business and other corporations
Stats for HSBC, number of offices and customers and where
4, 000 offices in 70 countries and around 37 million customers
The largest bank in europe total assets $2.3 trillion
6th largest public company according to Forbes magazine and 3rd on the Footies index
creates a global flow of money, ideas, information and people moving between multiple countries and continents back to the world city headquarters
Stats for JP Morgan Chase
$3.3 trillion in assest
Largest bank in America
fortune 500 company
30 corporate offices in 77 locations
What are the economic characteristics of world cities (5)
- large number of TNC and corporate headquarters
- high concentration of highly paid international elite
- high class residential areas
- sites of leading global markets
What is cultural authority
Ability to influence global interactions between people by offering a distinctive lifestyle base on unique forms of sport, entertainment and sophisticated transport and architecture
WC have cultural authority because they generate and spread ideas and values which influence cultural processes through global spectacles
