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Global city#GaWC study

{{Use American English|date=January 2024}}

{{short description|City important to the world economy}}

{{Redirect|World city|hypothetical planetwide cities|Ecumenopolis|other uses|World city (disambiguation)}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}

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| caption2 = New York City (top) and London (bottom) are the only two cities ranked in the Alpha ++ category by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Both cities are considered leading financial, commercial and cultural centers.

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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.{{cite journal |last1=Lenormand |first1=Maxime |last2=Gonçalves |first2=Bruno |last3=Tugores |first3=Antònia |last4=Ramasco |first4=José J. |title=Human diffusion and city influence |journal=Journal of the Royal Society Interface |date=2015 |volume=12 |issue=109 |pages=20150473 |doi=10.1098/rsif.2015.0473 |pmid=26179991 |pmc=4535413 |doi-access=free}}{{cite journal |last1=Lin |first1=Jan |title=World Cities |journal=The Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Globalization |date=2012 |doi=10.1002/9780470670590.wbeog820 |isbn=9780470670590}}{{cite journal |last1=Pain |first1=Kathy |title=World Cities |journal=International Encyclopedia of Geography |date=2017 |pages=1–9 |doi=10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg0525 |isbn=9781118786352}} 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.{{cite magazine |issue=503 |last1=Sassen |first1=Saskia |url=http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/503/503%20saskia%20sassen.htm |title=The global city: strategic site/new frontier |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061018200419/http://www.india-seminar.com/2001/503/503%20saskia%20sassen.htm |archive-date=18 October 2006 |date= July 2001 |magazine=Seminar Magazine |url-status=live }}

The criteria of a global city vary depending on the source.{{Cite web |title=global city |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/global-city |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=Britannica |language=en |archive-date=20 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020155031/https://www.britannica.com/topic/global-city |url-status=live }} Common features include a high degree of urban development, a large population, the presence of major multinational companies, a significant and globalized financial sector, a 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. Global city rankings are numerous.{{Cite web |date=2 April 2019 |title=Decoding City Performance |url=https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends-and-insights/research/decoding-city-performance |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191016212712/https://www.jll.co.uk/en/trends-and-insights/research/decoding-city-performance |archive-date=16 October 2019 |access-date=16 October 2019 |website=Jll.co.uk |language=en}} New York City, London, Tokyo, and Paris are the most commonly mentioned.{{cite web |title=Struggling Giants |url=https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/struggling-giants |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210117230114/https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/struggling-giants |archive-date=17 January 2021 |access-date=31 December 2020 |publisher=University of Minnesota Press |language=en}}{{cite book |last1=Abrahamson |first1=Mark |url=http://faculty.tamuc.edu/jsun/global%20cities.pdf |title=Global cities |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0195142044 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=4 |access-date=9 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210111074627/http://faculty.tamuc.edu/jsun/global%20cities.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2021 |url-status=live}}

Origin and terminology

The term 'global city' was popularized by sociologist Saskia Sassen in her 1991 book, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.Sassen, Saskia. [http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/6943.html The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo]. 1991. Princeton University Press. {{ISBN|0-691-07063-6}}. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316103717/http://pup.princeton.edu/titles/6943.html|date=16 March 2015}}. 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;{{cite web |date=18 December 2009 |title=The Empire in One City? Liverpool's Inconvenient Imperial Past |url=http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/737 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623124607/http://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/737 |archive-date=23 June 2012 |access-date=9 May 2012 |publisher=Reviews in History |first1=John |last1=Belchem }} British sociologist and geographer Patrick Geddes used the term in 1915.Doel, M., & Hubbard, P., (2002), "Taking World Cities Literally: Marketing the City in a Global Space of flows", City, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 351–368. Subscription required. 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.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-1ALAAAAYAAJ&q=megacity |title=Hemisfile: Perspectives on Political and Economic Trends in the Americas |date=1994 |publisher=Institute of the Americas |language=en}} In the 21st century, the terms are usually focused on a city's financial power and high technology infrastructure.{{cite news |date=15 February 2015 |title=Asian Cities Pay Hidden Price for Global Status |work=The Diplomat |url=https://thediplomat.com/2015/02/asian-cities-pay-hidden-price-for-global-status/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 January 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201130228/https://thediplomat.com/2015/02/asian-cities-pay-hidden-price-for-global-status/ |archive-date=1 February 2016}}{{cite news |date=14 August 2014 |title=The World's Most Influential Cities |work=Forbes |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2014/08/14/the-most-influential-cities-in-the-world/#7bbf56cb7370 |url-status=live |access-date=29 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905084618/https://www.forbes.com/sites/joelkotkin/2014/08/14/the-most-influential-cities-in-the-world#7bbf56cb7370 |archive-date=5 September 2017}}

Criteria

File:Above_Gotham.jpg, the core area of New York City, an Alpha++ global city, where there are several characteristic elements of global cities{{Cite web |title=What are the characteristics of world cities and megacities, and how has their distribution changed since 1950? – HBK Portal |url=https://hbkportal.co.uk/index.php/geography/urbanfutures2/ |access-date=2022-11-17 |language=en-GB |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117203257/https://hbkportal.co.uk/index.php/geography/urbanfutures2/ |url-status=live }} like worldwide influential economic (New York Stock Exchange) and cultural (Broadway) centers, headquarters of international political organizations (UN headquarters), world renowned museums (the Met Museum, MOMA, Guggenheim Museum), and worldwide-known landmarks (Times Square, Empire State Building, Central Park)]]

Competing groups have devised competing means to classify and rank world cities and to distinguish them from other cities. Although there is a consensus on the leading world cities,[http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb5.html GaWC Research Bulletin 5] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110808022750/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb5.html |date=8 August 2011 }}, GaWC, Loughborough University, 28 July 1999 the chosen criteria affect which other cities are included. Selection criteria may be based on a yardstick value (e.g., if the producer-service sector is the largest sector then city {{var|X}} is a world city) or on an imminent determination (if the producer-service sector of city {{var|X}} is greater than the combined producer-service sectors of {{var|N}} other cities then city {{var|X}} is a world city.) Although criteria are variable and fluid, typical characteristics of world cities include:Pashley, Rosemary. "HSC Geography". Pascal Press, 2000, p.164

  • The most prominent criterion has been providing a variety of international financial services,J.V. Beaverstock, [http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb179.html World City Networks 'From Below'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060308055423/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb179.html |date=8 March 2006}}, GaWC, Loughborough University, 29 September 2010 notably in finance, insurance, real estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing; and their amalgamation of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and other major financial institutions,
  • Headquarters of numerous multinational corporations,
  • Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area,
  • Major manufacturing centers with port and container facilities,
  • Considerable decision-making power daily and at a global level,
  • Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, and culture,
  • Centers of digital and other media and communications for global networks,
  • The dominance of the national region with great international significance,
  • The high percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information sector,
  • High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities and research facilities; and attracting international student attendance,K. O'Connor, [http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb161.html International Students and Global Cities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060205103720/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb161.html |date=5 February 2006 }}, GaWC, Loughborough University, 17 February 2005
  • Multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and entertainment facilities in the country,
  • High diversity in language, culture, religion, and ideologies.

Rankings

=GaWC World Cities=

{{Main article|Globalization and World Cities Research Network}}

{{Excerpt|Globalization and World Cities Research Network|inline=yes}} Primarily concerned with what it calls the "advanced producer services" of accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law, the cities in the top two classifications in the 2024 edition are:{{Cite web |title=World Cities 2024 |url=https://gawc.lboro.ac.uk/gawc-worlds/the-world-according-to-gawc/world-cities-2024/ |access-date=2024-11-01 |website=GaWC |language=en-US}}

==Alpha ++==

==Alpha +==

=Global Cities Index (Kearney)=

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.{{cite web |url=http://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/dfedfc4c-8a62-4162-90e5-2a3f14f0da3a |title=2012 Global Cities Index and Emerging Cities Outlook |format=PDF |access-date=9 May 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020223227/http://www.atkearney.com/documents/10192/dfedfc4c-8a62-4162-90e5-2a3f14f0da3a |archive-date=20 October 2013}}{{cite journal |title=The 2008 Global Cities Index |journal=Foreign Policy |issue=November/December 2008 |date=21 October 2008 |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4509 |access-date=31 October 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107184223/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4509 |archive-date=7 January 2010 |df=dmy-all}} The ranking is based on 27 metrics across five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement.{{cite web |url=http://www.atkearney.com/global-cities/2019 |title=Read @ATKearney: Una Cuestión de Talento: Cómo el Capital Humano Determinará los Próximos Líderes Mundiales |website=Atkearney.com |language=en-US |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191220065230/https://www.atkearney.com/global-cities/2019 |archive-date=20 December 2019 |url-status=live}} The top ranked cities in 2024 are:{{Cite web|url=https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/gcr/2024-full-report|title=Resurgent in a world at risk: 2024 Global Cities Report|website=Kearney}}

  1. {{flagicon|USA}} New York City
  2. {{flagicon|GBR}} London
  3. {{flagicon|FRA}} Paris
  4. {{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo
  5. {{flagicon|SGP}} Singapore
  6. {{flagicon|CHN}} Beijing
  7. {{flagicon|USA}} Los Angeles
  8. {{flagicon|CHN}} Shanghai
  9. {{flagicon|HKG}} Hong Kong
  10. {{flagicon|USA}} Chicago

=Global Cities Index (Oxford Economics)=

Advisory firm Oxford Economics ranks the world's largest 1,000 cities based on 27 indicators across five categories (economics, human capital, quality of life, environment, and governance) with more weight on economic factors. The top ranked cities in 2025 are:{{Cite web |last=Kelly |first=Liv |date=2025-05-21 |title=Global Cities Index 2025: Which cities topped the ranking this year? |url=https://www.timeout.com/news/global-cities-index-2025-which-cities-topped-the-ranking-this-year-052125 |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=Time Out Worldwide |language=en-GB}}

  1. {{flagicon|USA}} New York City
  2. {{flagicon|GBR}} London
  3. {{flagicon|FRA}} Paris
  4. {{flagicon|USA}} San Jose
  5. {{flagicon|USA}} Seattle
  6. {{flagicon|AUS}} Melbourne
  7. {{flagicon|AUS}} Sydney
  8. {{flagicon|USA}} Boston
  9. {{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo
  10. {{flagicon|USA}} San Francisco

=Global Power City Index=

The Tokyo-based Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation, issued a study of global cities in 2008. They are ranked in six categories: economy, research and development, cultural interaction, livability, environment, and accessibility. The top 10 cities in 2024 are:{{Cite web |title=Global Power City Index 2024 |url=https://mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/index.shtml |access-date=2025-05-15 |website=The Mori Memorial Foundation |language=en}}

  1. {{flagicon|GBR}} London
  2. {{flagicon|USA}} New York City
  3. {{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo
  4. {{flagicon|FRA}} Paris
  5. {{flagicon|SGP}} Singapore
  6. {{flagicon|KOR}} Seoul
  7. {{flagicon|NLD}} Amsterdam
  8. {{flagicon|UAE}} Dubai
  9. {{flagicon|GER}} Berlin
  10. {{flagicon|SPA}} Madrid

=World's Best Cities ranking=

Consultancy firm Resonance publishes the World's Best Cities ranking. They are ranked in three categories: livability, lovability and prosperity, each of them using different factors. The top 10 cities in 2025 are:{{cite web |title=Resonance: World's Best Cities |url=https://www.worldsbestcities.com/rankings/worlds-best-cities/ |access-date=31 May 2025 |language=English}}

  1. {{flagicon|GBR}} London
  2. {{flagicon|USA}} New York City
  3. {{flagicon|FRA}} Paris
  4. {{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo
  5. {{flagicon|SGP}} Singapore
  6. {{flagicon|ITA}} Rome
  7. {{flagicon|SPA}} Madrid
  8. {{flagicon|SPA}} Barcelona
  9. {{flagicon|GER}} Berlin
  10. {{flagicon|AUS}} Sydney

=Global Financial Centres Index=

{{Excerpt|Global Financial Centres Index|files=0}} The 2025 ranking was:

  1. {{flagicon|USA}} New York City
  2. {{flagicon|GBR}} London
  3. {{flagicon|HKG}} Hong Kong
  4. {{flagicon|SIN}} Singapore
  5. {{flagicon|USA}} San Francisco
  6. {{flagicon|USA}} Chicago
  7. {{flagicon|USA}} Los Angeles
  8. {{flagicon|CHN}} Shanghai
  9. {{flagicon|CHN}} Shenzhen
  10. {{flagicon|KOR}} Seoul

See also

{{portal|Cities|World}}

References

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Category:Cultural geography

Category:Economic geography

Category:Economic globalization

Category:Index numbers

Category:Lists of cities

Category:Loughborough University

Category:Metropolitan areas

Category:Types of cities

Category:Urban areas