London is now a more global city than New York - Essay Example

London is now a more “global” city than New York Executive summary London and New York are indeed one of the most developed cities in the world. This paper is a critical analysis of the two cities to find out which among the two satisfy more qualities of being a global city than the other. The paper uses different articles and financial journals to analyze the two cities and come up with the best conclusion as to which city provides the best definition of a global city. The paper also analyses graphs and tables of the two cities to come up with conclusions on the effect. A global city, which is sometimes known as ‘world city’ is one that is considered an important node in the global economic system. In the many global cities global, all the linkages that link the aspects of the cities have a direct tangible effect on the various global affairs in socio-economic ways. The global city status is usually considered by many people as beneficial. Because of these reasons, several groups have attempted to classify and rank which cities are to be considered as world cities and which ones not to. The criteria used for identification is usually based on a yardstick value which considers the producer service sector or the imminent determination which basically compares productivity of the cities. There are a number of global cities in the world including London and New York (Abu, 1999). Economic characteristics of a global city A global city serves as the corporate headquarter for multinational corporations, financial institutions, stock exchanges, law firms and conglomerates that influence the economy of the world as a whole. London offers major business and financial services for example; it is home to more than 33% of European headquarters of Global Fortune 500. To be a global city, it should also be able to contribute some considerable financial output to the city’s regions and the nation’s GDP A global city needs to appear at the top of cost of living. It should be home to major stock markets .More than 40% of the world's foreign equities and shares are traded in London, more than are traded in New York. Over 30% of the world's foreign exchanges take place in London, which is more than Tokyo and New York put together. New York, same to Tokyo rely mainly on their large American and Asian domestic markets while around 80% of London’s business is international (Taylor, 2013). Tables of some of the financial stocks in the UK Political characteristics The city should have active influence and participate in world fairs and international events. London, Berlin, Tokyo, Paris among others, feature among the cities that have achieved this. New York is not among them. Instead the United States is usually represented by Washington when it comes to political matters. Global cities host headquarters for major international organizations such as World Bank, United Nations, NATO etc.New York for example hosts the United Nations headquarters. They should be large especially when it comes to demographics which are just having large population of people in the municipality, which is the center of any metropolitan area in their millions. The standards of living or the quality of life should be considerably high. The composition of the community should consist of several expatriate communities Connectivity Connectivity is about transport and communication systems. It is about how a city facilitates transport and communication to other major places in the world. London can be said to be a transport hub to very many other destinations all over Europe and the whole world. London has some of the busiest airports in the world that see more than 100000 flights monthly. An example is the Heathrow airport which could comfortably be said to be the busiest airport in the world. And this means that business and business related activities are thriving in London (Fainstein, 2010). Environment Cities obviously have an impact on their environment that transcends traditionally existing boundaries. London uses energy and thus faces environmental challenges. However; it has developed environmental means to deal with climate change through congestion charge and also decentralized production of energy. Diversity Diversity, especially when speaking in terms of the people who live in the city, is a plus for London. The number of races, ethnicities and nationalities of people who are represented in that particular city. London is highly populous and diverse for that matter. A third of the population is made up of blacks, Asians and other minority groups usually referred to as the BAME groups. It is speculated that over the next ten years, the BAME groups will consist about 80% of the total working population of London London has about 300 languages and more than 14 religions (Roberts, 2008). Availability of skilled labor Skilled labour can be available only if the demographics of the city are right in that the number of people living in that city is high and also if there is a good education system to convert the available man power from just manpower to skilled manpower. London as a city has the largest number of students in the United Kingdom; this however is not per capita.The universities in London are divided into two groups: There is the federal university of London which is the largest contact teaching university in the U.K and has about 120000 students. It is made up of 12 institutes, 19 colleges and a distance learning system. The university’s constituent colleges are highly autonomous in that they control their own degree programs and admissions. The second batch of classification includes those universities that are not part of university of London. These were mainly polytechnics until they were given university status in 1992 by an act of parliament. New York’s education is provided by a number of institutions both private e and public. New York City Department of Education is the largest public schooling system in the world. The city is known as global center in medicinal and scientific research in life sciences The regulatory environment A regulatory environment generally includes laws and regulations that have been developed the local, state and federal governments in order to enable them have control over the business practices. Specific changes laws, regulations and deregulations can lead to outflow and inflow of businesses in any area. In London, its competitiveness as a global city ranks top because of its regulatory environment which is considered the best (Taylor, 2012). London has been a very accommodating for local and international business for several reasons. In the open market where other countries had taken stricter rules, Britain however took a passive approach. The Bank of England allowed non sterling businesses which was rather an open door foreign policy. New York recently received the Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize. This awards achievement and leaderships in terms of policies on conservation of energy, public safety and affordable housing plan. These are seen as catalysts for growth (Yanarella, 2011). Investing in public transport sector, education, public safety, cultural amenities, education, conservation and sustainable energy production are some of the major considerations as cities try to retain competitiveness. This award has given an edge to New York over London as a global city since it’s a recognition that does not come from within the United States but from shanghai as clearly stated by Seth Pinsky, who is president of the New York City Economic Development Corp New York definitely feels challenged to retain this top spot as accorded to it by this award. If we were to go by the number of recognitions and accolades that New York has received it may be seen to be top or at position one. These awards are given by professionals who know exactly what defines a global city and the necessary conditions that a city needs to be global. Above these, it must stand out as better than the rest for it to be recognized in this manner. Both New York and London are highly cultural cities with a rich tradition behind them. London has the museums of London which has every single detail one needs to know about London. The museum has gone through a series of improvements that has seen it embrace technology thus better services to the clients both from inside and outside Britain. New York on the other hand is cultural and also has great art centers and museum. New York is home to a magnificent theatre district .However this is watered down by the high crime rates in New York. Opportunities A global city needs opportunities for survival and development of its population. New York is ranked top of London as the city of opportunity. This is according to a report by Pricewaterhouse Coopers and partnership for New York City. It gauges all global cities’ in terms of their abilities to provide opportunities for their residents. This report was conducted in most of the cities that account for more than 8% of the world’s economy. It reports on the adaptability and resilience of these cities and the connection between London economic growth and life quality. New York was the first among the cities. This was so even after it won no categories. After five consecutive rankings, London finally moved to 2nd place from its previous poor rankings. The report also ranked London among the first growing cities among the ranked cities and projected that by the year 2025, London would be the city with many opportunities. Asian cities topped the list of the most cultural cities. The culture proved to have lots of opportunities especially in terms of tourism. This included activities such as economic clout and city gateway. Shangai was able to top up all these categories. Singapore, Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo were ranked top interms of transport and infrastructure. Conclusion Even though London is a fast growing city in terms of globalization and financial independency, it is still evident that New York currently is the most global city and that it still provides a lot of opportunities for new and current financial markets. Reports however indicate that London is fast growing and providing a lot of opportunities and that by the year 2025, London is projected to be a more global city than New York Bibliography Abu-Lughod, J. L. (1999). New York, Chicago, Los Angeles: America's Global Cities. Minneapolis: University Of Minnesota Press. Fainstein, S. S. (2010). The Just City. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Roberts, R. (2008). The City A Guide To London's Global Financial Centre. London: Economist In Association With Profile Books. Taylor, P. J., & Hoyler, M. (2013).Global Cities. Abingdon: Oxon, Routledge. Taylor, P. J. (2012). Global Cities. London: Routledge. Yanarella, E. J., & Levine, R. S. (2011).The City As Fulcrum Of Global Sustainability. London: Anthem Press. Read More