URBAN PLACES - World Cities and Mega Cities (copy)

What is the character of world cities?

• Centres of economic (commerce), financial activity, transport hubs and communication

  • CHANGE, CONTROL AND COMMAND CENTRES

• Drives economic and social development → lifts people out of poverty

What is a world city?

Cities that are known to be control, common and civilisation centres of the global economy and amongst the network of other cities, where the most important business is conducted.

• Examples: London, New York, Tokyo and Paris.

At what rate is mass urbanisation occurring ?

It is INCREASING!

• Mass urbanisation historical precedent, over 1 million people are added to the global urban population per week

  • 2-3 billion more to the urban environment in the next ten years

What is the result of mass urbanisation?

• we need more airports, ports, and telecommunications (need for rapid infrastructure development.)

Where is urbanisation occurring and what are the challenges it imposes?

• Most urbanisation occurring in Africa and Asia

• Rapid urbanisation = rapid infrastructure development → they can’t cope with this. (consequences: environmental degradation)

  • BUT, they have no financial means to build the infrastructure needed

What are some push factors of world cities? (6)

• Conflict

• Natural disaster

• Lack of opportunity (ed, jobs)

• Lack of family support or structure

• Security or crime

• Environmental destruction

What are some pull factors of world cities? (5)

• Opportunities (ed, jobs)

• health care

• welfare and social security systems

• cost of living

• rights and freedoms

What is the nature of world cities? (5)

• Dominate an important aspect of the economy

• Have political power (highly educated/knowledgeable people interact with these cities.)

• They are at the top of World Trade and Communications

  • Influence the integrated global networks → reinforces the increase in global communication

  • Link smaller urban centres into the global economy (regional, national to the international)

• They have a lot of Banking/Finance

• Control centres of information → make them decision-makers.

What is the nature of world cities? (6)

• Infrastructure built to develop social networks

  • Office buildings, international hotels, conference centres, apartment blocks, and prestige residences supported by transport and information systems

  • A cluster of services needed for international contribution to the economy despite the increase in technology and instant communications (global networking)

• Major stock exchange and futures exchanges located

• Dominate popular culture through communications and media outlets

  • Creates a culture for high-income earners, purchasing power is concentrated

• Have a high percentage of Transnational corporations headquarters corporations/financial hub

  • TNCs control products available and where the production will take place

  • They will locate to reduce costs & increase access to global markets

• The emergence of new ways of organising economic enterprises (i.e. outsourcing of business-related services and key stages in the manufacturing process.)

• Technological developments in transport and communications

What is the spatial distribution of world cities? (5)

• Dominant - London, Paris, NY, Tokyo

  • Most powerful of the global economy

• Major - Zurich, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, São Paulo

  • Link large national economies

• Secondary - Sydney, Milan

  • Link regions to the global economy

• The largest concentration is in Western Europe (approx 12)

  • USA - 9

  • Asia - 6

• Only 4 are located in the southern hemisphere (Kearney Top 25 world cities, 2022) also only 1 middle eastern country, Dubai

What is the role of world cities as powerful centres of economic authority? (5)

• Command points in the organisation of the global economy

  • HQ for TNCs, national corporations, IGOs

    • World trade organisation in NYC

• TNC dominate decision-making - produce & production

• Key locations for financial services

  • Major stock exchange

    • NY is major trading in equity & gov bonds - in cyberspace

  • London, Tokyo and Zurich are major banking centres

• Specialised service firms

  • Manufacturing sector with service industry - suburbanisation of manufacture

  • Key people gather information face-to-face, through networks

• Markets offering goods and services

  • Accumulations of wealth & high incomes

  • Hold purchasing power

  • Patterns of concentrated retailing areas in high-order goods

    • 5th avenue in NY & Champs de Elyse in Paris

What is the role of world cities as powerful centres of cultural authority? (3)

• Social infrastructure

  • Develop global social networks

  • Sophisticated transport, information systems, international hotels, conference centres

• Centres for cultural facilities

  • Theatres, opera houses, large entertainment centres - major world cultural sporting events

• Distinctive cultural lifestyles

  • Low-income earners have a reduced capacity to participate in the world city

  • Experience distinctive cultural lifestyles - due to the mix of cultures and trade of information

London as a world city: OVERVIEW

• The major city for euro trading (since 1999, euro currency)

  • London consists of two cities: Westminster and the City of London (financial district aka ‘Square Mile’ or ‘The City

  • The population is 8.6 million, (expected to grow to 11 million by 2050)

London as a world city: ECONOMIC AUTHORITY (7)

• Important centre (of economic authority and control) due to trading culture, quality of specialised services, time zone, language and regulatory environment

• World’s largest financial market.

  • The banking sector contains more cross-border banking than other countries (more foreign banks than any other city)

• UK global leader in aviation and marine insurance

• London foreign exchange market has a global share of 41%

  • More foreign companies are listed on the stock exchange than in other cities

• During the 1990s, London emerged as one of the main control centres in the ‘new’ global economy.

• The Greater London (GL) region’s economy accounted for 22% of the UK’s GDP. (GL is the 5th largest metropolitan economy in the world.

• London remains ‘the city of choice’ for the super-rich of Asia and the Middle East.

  • The number of UK-based ultra-high-net-worth individuals (those with more than 30 million in assets) is expected to increase by 30% by 2025.

London as a world city: CULTURAL AUTHORITY (3)

• One of the world’s most ethically diverse cities.

  • 50 nationalities with communities of more than 10 000 make their home in the city.

  • More than 300 languages are spoken.

  • 37% of Londoners were born outside the UK, and 24.5% per cent born outside Europe.

  • Only 44.9% of the city’s population is ‘white’ British

  • Most of those with a non-British ethnic background are the children and grandchildren of those who came from the Caribbean and Indian subcontinent during the 1950s and 1960s after the disintegration of the British Empire.

• Social networking has increased their cultural authority and further developed global networks

  • Increases knowledge & need to interpret it

  • Found unexpected business opportunities

    • Business cards, lunches, conventions & conferences

    • Electronic exchange of information (phone, online)

    • Build up long-term networks - exchange of personnel with firms or oversea-offices

• Events:

  • Theatres in the West end, sporting venues (Olympics - London has hosted the most), cafes and restaurants.

How is London a tourist destination and centre of culture? (5)

• One of the world’s great centres of consumption, luxury, leisure, art, museums and sport.

• 26 million tourists each year. Out of this, 17.8 million are international tourists.

• In total, visitors spend 11.8 billion pounds a year. (accounts for 10% of retail spending and ⅓ of theatre seats.)

• The tourism industry employs 380 000 people.

• The creative economy contributes 7.5 billion pounds per year to the economy and employs more than 795 800 people in 15 00 enterprises.

  • 16.3% of the city’s workforce.

THE CITY: London’s financial district (6)

• Employs 400 000 people directly.

• Only 8000 people live here.

• 539 foreign banks have a presence here.

• Has the HQ of 220 out of 500 of the UK’s top companies

• Has a smaller stock exchange than Tokyo and NYC, but it is more international.

  • Over 40% of the world’s foreign equities (shares) are traded here

• In total, London’s financial sector alone employs about 1.25 million people or about ⅓ of the jobs available.

the operation of global networks:

• Control the flow of money, ideas, culture and people (connect different cities together)

  • Decision makers located in WC → They represent firms with the global strategy of dispensing services, ideas, people, etc.

Dominance in world cities:

• WC have control over urban centres due to cultural and economic authority

  • Centres of corporate decision-making, investment decisions

  • fashion/culture

  • Centres of global communication/transport

  • Attract talent

• Spatial dominance → area they have authority over or influence

• Hierarchy of national, regional and local levels

Dependance in world cities:

• Less powerful urban centres rely on powerful centres (greatest at the bottom of the global hierarchy)

  • Cities in less developed countries are dependent on the control exerted by cities in the developed world

  • Decisions by TNCs and NGOs affect the dependent cities

What is a megacity?

• an extremely large, dynamic and complex urban agglomeration.

  • Continuous Pop. over 10 million and dominates trade and financial flows

  • Currently 33 MC, the largest proportion are developing countries.

Nature of Megacities (3)

• UN states 2020 there was 56.2% of the global population in urbanised areas increasing to 60.4 % in 2030

• 96% of urban growth will occur in East Asia, South Asia and Africa (India, China, Nigeria)

• UN rural areas will reduce by 300 million, and this indicates that another 2.5 billion people will be added to urban areas by 2050

REASONS for the rapid growth of megacities in the developing world (6)

• Transformation of rural areas → modern farming methods, decrease world opportunities (mechanisation of agriculture)

  • Forced to leave rural areas for work (rural flight/depopulation)

• Natural increase and rural-urban migration

  • UN, 2011, 18 million people migrate rural-urban every year in China

    • The push factors: famine, drought, natural disasters, housing, health, poor agriculture, unemployment, poor living conditions, and civil war

    • Pull factors: employment, better income, better healthcare, better education, better facilities,  protection from conflict, and work.

• Opportunity for work within cities

  • Major centres for manufacturing industries, service, information, trade, and wealth accumulation

  • centralised

• The cultural role of cities

  • attracts skilled workers

• National government policies

  • encourage people to move to the city

• Industrialisation

  • TNCs locate in large cities for cheaper labour/manufacturing costs

Character of Mega-cities (11)

• Constantly changing dynamic → difficult to respond to challenges

• National and international functions

• Cultural individuality → Mumbai and Bollywood film industry

• Former colonial cities - still have old colonial buildings/infrastructure

• Major centres of manufacturing

• Over-urbanisation

• Over-ruralisation

• Slums

• Informal economies

• social divisions

• International migration streams

Spatial Distribution of megacities (4)

• Located mainly in coastal regions of south and east Asia

  • Over-urbanisation and increasing pressure of over ruralisation

    • The mechanisation of agriculture leads to the abundance of cheap labour attracting TNC’s

  • Of the world’s 10 largest cities 8 are coastal

    • Easy access to trading ports for increased exports/imports

    • People prefer to live closer to the water (liveability)

• Developing countries growing faster used to be countries in Europe and North America

  • 1950 - NY and Tokyo

  • Africa’s population will increase - megacities will increase

    • Their country is still developing - health conditions are improving and fertility rates are still high

    • 50% of their population still lives in rural areas

  • Growth in developed countries will decrease and their prominence as megacities

• MCs are concentrated in Asia due to over-urbanisation and the abundance of cheap labour, which attracts TNCs

• UN REPORT: developing regions as a whole account for 93% of urban growth while Asia and Africa account for over 80%.

  • The UN suggests Asia’s urban pop. will increase to 2.7 billion by 2030