Dominant Understanding of a Global City - Coursework Example

How will the dominant understanding of what a "global represents (which is based largely on a relatively small group of mostly western cities) be challenged by the diverse experiences of the emerging global cities of the south? Customer name Instructor name The fact that the global economy has a significant influence on the life of cities has long been established. The phenomenon dates back to several centuries and has seen transformed the functioning of cities over the decades. In examining the nature of influence that the global economy has on cities, one needs to trace down the origins of the modern city life. It was in the 1960s that the world saw crucial changes in the organization of economic activity (Sassen 2001). These changes manifested in the economy of the world, as well as in different forms specific to particular regions. Some of these changes are recognizable even after half a century in the modern world. These include the loss of the power and authority of the industrial centres set up in the US, UK and in Japan as well. Other changes that can be recognized include the rapid increase in the industrialization process of many developing countries and the fast pace of the financial industry in taking on, and making its own, the extensive structure of transactions spread all over the world (Sassen 2001).Sassen (2001) observes that all of these changes had an impact on the connection between the cities and the global economy. In the years immediately after the Second World War, the world saw a dominance of the US over various aspects of the global economy. However, a few decades later, the trend started to change, and the early 1970s were witness to dissolution of the control that the US held. With the fall of the central power of the US, a chasm was created in the global economic activity, which was quickly filled by US transnational industrial firms and banks. During the time period after the fall of the transnational elements, the reins and the subsequent nature of the activities of global economy were in the hands of the US transnational firms and banks. However, within the space of a few years, the Third World debt crisis shattered the control of these US firms and banks, resulting in huge losses for them. The international economy was not broken into splinters by the debt crisis; its survival transformed it into a complicated hybrid of duality: “a spatially dispersed, yet globally integrated organization of economic activity” (Sassen 2001). The creation of spatial dispersal, coupled with global integration, has resulted in the redefinition of the structural characteristics of major cities. Along with their role as the hubs of main financial activity and international trade, these cities have been bestowed with four new roles. These roles are the cities operating as the main headquarters of giving commands in the global economical hierarchy, as the major places for finance and specialized service firms, as the prominent regions of production and the pioneers of development and introduction of latest technology, and lastly as the market where these products and technology are available for bartering (Sassen 2001). These advancements have had a significant effect not only on the global economy but also on the cities; the cities have gained control over extensive resources, and finance and specialized service firms have altered the urban social and economic order (Sassen 2001). This has resulted in the formation of a new breed of cities termed as the global city. The result of the increased globalization that started occurring in the 1980s was the advent of a new version of centrality (Sassen 2002); one that was characterized with some cities being the centres of economic activities and being a conglomeration of both complexity and diversity (Larson 2010). The global cities serve as a connection between the regional, national and international economies with the global economy; in this process, they play the role of nodal points. These nodal points can be defined as centres where there is an integration and organization as well as further movement of capital, information, products and migrants. The global cities are also connected to each other by flows of information, migrants and capital, which helps to develop a network of cities across the border (Sassen 2002). Examples of global cities include New York, London, Tokyo, Frankfurt and Paris. Kazepov (2005) observes that the definition of global cities is derived from the economic functions of the international economy. There are certain economic functions that are integral to the survival and normal working of the economy; when these economic functions are concentrated in a few cities, these cities become the strategic places for the regulation of the economic activities. Consequently, global cities are marked with more number of specialized service firms, producers and headquarters for transnational companies than any other city in the world. The traits of the global city, as proposed by Saskia Sassen, encompass “spatial and social fragmentation, segmentation, and polarization” (Kazepov 2005). Moreover the cities led to the development of groups of highly-paid individuals that commanded great deal of clout and were prominent names in transnational companies as well as groups of poor individuals earning small amounts of salaries and employed in transnational companies. The hierarchy of cities put forward by Sassen has been further made more precise by the GaWC research team at Loughborough University in the UK, and the team suggested that the global cities should be divided into alpha, beta and gamma levels of significance (Brenner & Keil 2006). These are referred to as levels of world city network integration (GaWC 2010). The alpha++ cities constitute those cities with a highly advanced form of integration as compared to other cities; these cities include London and New York. Alpha+ cities are those cities which are comparable to London and New York but do not possess such an advanced level of integration. Alpha & alpha- cities serve the role of cities that are crucial in linking various economic regions of the world together. On the other hand, the role of beta level cities is to provide a connection between their particular region and the international economy, whereas gamma level cities serve to provide a link between smaller regions and the world economy. Cities with sufficiency of services are also in existence and are characteristic of having adequate services as not to be dependent on the world cities (GaWC 2010). When Sassen proposed her theory of global cities, it created quite a stir in economic and political circles. Her hypothesis was very successful and urban scholars became involved in the process of identifying the various parameters that defined global cities and investigating if their home towns fell in the category of global cities or not (Kazepov 2005). A lot of research was also conducted on the topic. However, most of the research that has been conducted has focused on the global cities of the West such as London and New York. Sassen (Sassen 2002) observes in her book, Global networks, linked cities, that most of the research has focused on major metropolises which are the hubs of the world system. A large number of the studies conducted used to regard Third World urbanization from the lens of a nation-state perspective. Moreover the studies did not regard demographic queries and doubts, urban primacy and urban problems with importance (Sassen 2002). However recent developments in the global economy have made the need to take into account the relationships between the major world cities of the world and the megacities of the peripheries. There can be three arguments that can be presented to establish that the emerging cities of the developing world impact the global economy and must be considered in research regarding globalization. Firstly, there are cities in the world that are still considered to be megacities despite the fact that the definition of megacities is quantitative in nature whereas that of global cities is more qualitative. These cities are situated not only in Latin America and Africa but also in Asia. Although categorizing them as a megacity rather than a global city excludes them from research on global cities, these cities are impacting the global economy in the world today. Secondly, the ranking that a country holds in the international division of labour has widespread effects on the socio-economic prosperity and progress of the country. This follows that any improvements and developments in the urban structure of the country will have an effect on the wider dynamics of global interaction, such as “colonialism, merchant capitalism, dependent industrialization” or the global economic crisis (Sassen 2002). Lastly, if the hypothesis is taken in its literal terms, that the cities of the world are linked to each other through a network, and cities assume the role of nodal points in this network, then the prominent cities of the developing world are bound to be chief regions for globalization as well. Sassen (2002) argues that one can derive from these arguments that the megacities of the peripheries are an undeniable part of the urban system that extends beyond borders. Roll (2010) is of the perspective that the modern era of globalization has led to two main changes with regard to urban structure. Firstly, global cities, which were once only restricted to Western cities, are now coming to surface in emerging economies. Secondly, there is no coherent pattern that can be identified in the emergence of these global cities. Cities such as Shanghai, New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangkok, Rio de Janeiro, Istanbul and Dubai now form the new group of global cities. These cities have originated from emerging economies, and unlike the Western global cities which are the centre for particular things, these cities are not famous for any one thing. When looking at the cities from an international development lens, one can appreciate that the main regions in the North are not the only places which can attract global economic elements of cumulative causation (Capello & Nijkamp 2004). The emerging global cities of the South can also provide benefits to international developers. The emerging major cities of the South are attractive foreign direct investment places with agglomeration advantages that exceed nearby areas (Capello & Nijkamp 2004). Moreover some major cities of the South are located in a strategic position and serve as a point of entry into less developed areas, and this has made these cities important globally. Some cities are considered to have even continental significance. These countries also lure large numbers of migrants. This also represents that labourers who are less qualified try to find a niche for themselves by migrating to the major cities of the South (Capello & Nijkamp 2004). Khanna (2010) is of the perspective that the newly rising category of megacities is going to override the importance of what the global cities have provided in the past. The increase in the populations of these cities have led to the creation of cities that were not thought of in the past, such as the factory towns in China’s Guangdong province and the knowledge cities of the Middle East countries. The emerging brand of cities in the South requires that they are not going to follow the same rules and regulations as the earlier compact of countries. The cities are going to make their own codes of conduct driven by their own requirements of efficiency, connectivity and security (Khanna 2010). Although the Western global cities have been the giants since the Industrial Revolution as exemplified by their highly-qualified workforce, strong judicial systems and thriving financial markets, the economic map today highlights the rising power and control of the economies of the South. The advances in the Asia-Pacific region in places including Seoul, Shanghai and Sydney are contributing to an increase in Asianization. The Asian Monetary Fund has gained an important role in shielding the currencies from fluctuating and there has been an increase in the trade amongst Asian countries. Khanna (2010) argues that these emerging cities do not regard Westernization and modernization as equal. These cities are “functional, self-organizing ecosystems” which are “off the grid” (Khanna 2010). However the emergence of these cities is also leading to economic inequity (Shatkin 2007). This means that cities are both a virus and an antibody, and both a problem and a solution. Therefore there is a dire need to focus on the emerging category of cities in the South since it could mean the difference between a bright future and region that resembles the likes of Mumbai and Karachi (Khanna 2010). Reference List Brenner, N & Keil, R 2006, The global cities reader, Routledge. Capello, R & Nijkamp, P 2004, Urban dynamics and growth: advances in urban economics, Emerald Group Publishing. GaWC 2010, The World According to GaWC, University of Loughborough, viewed on 2 January, 2011, Kazepov, Y 2005, Cities of Europe: changing contexts, local arrangements, and the challenge to urban cohesion. Wiley-Blackwell. Khanna, P 2010, Beyond City Limits, Foreign Policy, viewed on 2 January, 2011, Larson, C 2010, Swoons over Miami, Foreign Policy, viewed on 2 January, 2011, Roll, M 2010, Martin Roll: New Global Cities Can Invent Great Futures for Themselves, Jakarta Globe, viewed on 2 January, 2011, < http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/martin-roll-new-global-cities-can-invent-great-futures-for-themselves/387694> Sassen, S 2001, The global city: New York, London, Tokyo, 2nd edn, Princeton University Press. Sassen, S 2002, Global networks, linked cities, Routledge. Shatkin, G 2007, ‘Global cities of the South: Emerging perspectives on growth and inequality’, Cities, vol. 24, no. 1, pp.1-15. Read More