CHAPTER 10: THE GLOBAL CITY

"Medium and small cities, those which nobody knows about, are going to grow faster in the
future. Our century is about global cities."
- The Mayor of Istanbul

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, students are expected to:
1. Gain a fuller and a more solid understanding about the concept of a Global City and the other ideas
associated with it;
2. Be able to analyze the importance and significance of the Global City in the realm of economic,
political and socio-cultural dimensions of the contemporary global setting;
3. Be able to correlate the Concept of a Global City within the greater construct of Globalization; and
4. Equip students with 21" century learning and develop higher order thinking skills that will lead
towards a deeper understanding of the subject matter and correlate the topic with the Philippines.

The city as we know it has changed dramatically over the course of time. Apparent changes in
technology, cultural exchanges and migration as well as economic progress and personal social mobility has
changed the concept of a city Cities are ecosystems for businesses and innovation. The strength of an urban
center, network of businesses, the talent of its citizenry, the stability of political institutions, and the creativity
of cultural organizations all contribute to an environment in which existing businesses flourish and new
businesses are born. (Kearney, 2017).
With the onslaught of Globalization, we are introduced to a more profound concept, that of the Global
city. Within the past two decades, the city has emerged as a critical site for analyzing dynamic and dialectic
articulations of global and local processes. An expanding body of work has shown that an emerging global
system of production, finance, telecommunications, culture, and politics is being socially and spatially
articulated through a worldwide network of cities (Scott, 2001).
It is necessary to highlight the important role of cities in the world economy and how it has received
increasing attention even among scholars who try to study its dynamics like (Beaverstock et al., 2002;
Derudder et al., 2010; Sassen, 2001; Taylor, 2001). The fact remains that major cities function as command
and control nodes in the global reach of large corporations and have been coined as "global cities"
(Friedmann, 1986; Sassen, 1996).
In addition, it should be borne in mind that urban processes and politics are not only expressing but
also re-working and re-shaping the processes of globalization on the ground. While cities are becoming more
porous to global forces, national and local actors are taking an active interest and initiative in restructuring
their cities as globally competitive places. This meeting of the global and the local has made cities mediums
and arenas of globalization wherein global, national, and local processes and forces encounter each other,
merge, and create a new politics of place-making under the conditions of globalizing capitalism (Genis, 2007).
Apparently, this is how Global cities affect the continuing saga of Globalization.

What is a Global City?

 First and foremost, it is warranted that a definition of a Global City be advanced. A Global city, also
known by other terminologies as "alpha city" or "world center" is a city regarded as a primary node in the
global economic network (Alderson and Beckfield, 2004). By and large, a Global city according to Brenner
(1998), pertains to an urban centre that enjoys significant competitive advantages and that serves as a hub
within a globalized economic system. It emanates from the idea that globalization is created, facilitated, and
enacted in strategic geographic locales (cities) according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the
global system of finance and trade (Smith, 2003). In effect, a global city serves as an important focal point for
business. global trade, finance, tourism and globalization to exist (Sassen, 1994).

(Source: https://mediacatmagazine.co.uk/london-ranks-first-among-top-global-cities-for-entrepreneurial-
success/)
File Photo: London, One of the most prominent Global Cities

The term has its origins in research on cities carried out during the 1980s, which examined the
common characteristics of the world's most important cities. However, with increased attention being paid to
processes of globalization during subsequent years, these world cities came to be known as global cities.
Linked with globalization was the idea of spatial reorganization and the hypothesis that cities were becoming
key loci within global networks of production, finance, and telecommunications (Taylor, 2001). In some
formulations of the global city thesis, then, such cities are seen as the building blocks of globalization.
Simultaneously, these cities were becoming newly privileged sites of local politics within the context of a
broader project to reconfigure state institutions.
 (Source: https://www.costakreuzfahrten.ch/de/haefen/hong-kong.html)
File Photo: Hongkong as an Asian Global City
Global cities are the highly globalized and competitive metropolitan economies with the deepest and
most settled concentrations of firms, capital and talent. Six cities stand out. The 'Big Six' include the traditional
'super cities' of London, New York, Paris and Tokyo, but more recently this quartet has been joined by Hong
Kong and Singapore. They have significant competitive advantages, but nonetheless are vulnerable to other
dynamic gateway cities that are well positioned to capture spill over demand, notably Seoul, Toronto and
Sydney and, over the longer term, Shanghai. The illustration below shows the typology of the order of cities
by classification.

Source: Cities Research Center, 2015 (https://twitter.com/JLL/status/661823950528380928/photo/1)

There have been various researches made in the past regarding the realm of a Global city like
Friedman who pioneered it in the 1980s but a more solid and grounded attempt to carefully appraise and
analyze the concept could be attributed to Saskia Sassen. Sassen is the leading urban theorist of the global
world. Her work, The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo (1991) has shaped the concepts and methods
that other theorists have used to analyze the role of cities and their networks in the contemporary world.

(Source: https://cgt.columbia.edu/about/people/committee-faculty/saskia-sassen/)
File Photo: Saskia Sassen, a pioneer and expert in Global city studies (cnn.org.uk)
 Quite integral to Sassen's concept of the global city is an emphasis on the flow of information and
capital. She argued that cities are major nodes in the interconnected systems of information and money, and
the wealth that they capture is intimately related to the specialized businesses that facilitate those flows-
financial institutions, consulting firms, accounting firms, law firms, and media organizations. Sassen points out
that these flows are no longer tightly bound to national boundaries and systems of regulation; so, the
dynamics of the global city are dramatically different than those of the great cities of the nineteenth century.
This means that the concept of a Global city eludes the national level in which the city is located
geographically but rather exudes a more global character because of the interconnected and integrated
platforms of its activities that surely impacts the global realm.
Essential Traits of a Global City
We now turn the focus of discussion into what essentially characterizes a Global city. This will provide
a better hindsight as to how Global cities exist and operate. These are as follows:
1. There is an apparent presence of a variety of international financial services notably in finance,
insurance, real estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing.
- Financial institutions are indispensible for global cities in as much as trade, commerce and finance is
almost second nature to these cities. We have to bear in mind that these cities are important hubs of global
trade and economy and this explains the reason why banking and financial service providers are all the more
important to sustain the demand for exchange and financial mobility (Knox and Taylor, 1995).

Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/search/2/image?phrase=hsbc+bank
2. Headquarters of several multinational corporations
- Global cities are preferred locations for multinational corporation (MNC) investment because they
host advanced producer services (such as marketing, accounting and finance), their cosmopolitan
environments, and their interconnectedness to the international market place. Yet, like MNCs, global cities are
not a homogenous group and individual firms make unique choices locate their operations in idiosyncratic
global cities. (Belderbos et.al, n.d). The idea that Global cities serves the trade and financial interests as well
as image of an MNC makes it a unique destination, a preferred locale of choice for some of the world's most
established MNC's.

3. The existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and major financial institutions
- At the heart of global cities are financial transactions that beat at every turn. The proximity and
accessibility of banking, stock exchange and other financial institutions are a key element in the growth and
proliferation of global cities.
4. Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area
- Global cities are dominant business and commercial hubs where capital and investment flow operate
at a massive scale. Just as ancient cities have become important economic centers of antiquity, global cities
are the necessary trading and commercial hubs of the Information age. With high levels of information
exchange, these cities are often located in countries with some of the most stable governments and
economies in their regions and are typically cultural centers in countries with younger and more liberal
populations. Many of these city governments fund seed accelerators or have grants that attract the attention
of multinational companies seeking to tap into and grow the ecosystem. Tel Aviv, for example, has one of the
highest start-up densities in the world with a strong entrepreneurial spirit and 300 multinational R&D centers.
Berlin, too, is a growing regional hub, welcoming start-ups from London and Paris that seek the city's lower
costs, openness to other nationalities, and legacy of creativity. Finally, Bangalore has become a center for
young tech workers in India, with entrepreneurial success stories in diverse industries from e-commerce to
healthcare (Taylor et. al, 2011).

5. Major manufacturing centers with port and container facilities

- Most global cities like Hongkong possess massive port and container infrastructures to facilitate
further international commerce and trade.

(Source: https://hongkongfp.com/2019/02/14/hong-kong-port-slips-global-top-five-first-time/)
File Photo: Busy Hongkong port area

6. Considerable decision-making power on a daily basis and at a global level

- Global cities possess the capacity to create an immediate impact with its decisions, actions and
policy directions. This is because of their importance in the global economic field that their respective
decisions whether political, economic or even socio-cultural possess a relatively huge global appeal.
 (Source: https://www.c40.org/steering-committee/mayor-sadiq-khan/)
File Photo: Mayor Sadiq Khan of London

7. Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture, and politics
- Smith (2003) opined that the trailblazing and pioneering spirit of Global cities will always be present
due to the conglomeration of people present as well as the architecture for development that is firmly
established including numerous research and development facilities.

8. Focal point of media and communications for global networks

- Chalaby (2005) suggests that media conglomerates have adopted new organizational structures,
within which headquarters grant affiliates increased autonomy, strengthen their specialization, and connect
them into an interdependent corporate network. Such a strategy aims to achieve global reach and efficiency
while ensuring responsiveness to the requirements of local markets. Castells (2009,) similarly argues that
"only global networks can master the resources required in global media production, but their ability to
conquer market shares depends on the adaptation of their content to the taste of local audiences."

9. Dominance of the national region with great international significance

- The dominance of the global city over the national region is very much evident nowadays.
Demographics have played a role. A century ago, roughly 10 percent of the world's population lived in cities.
Now, at a minimum, more than 50 percent of the world's population is urbanized, a number that is expected to
grow to more than 60 percent by 2030. In addition, structural shifts in the global economy, changes in the
nature of international challenges and improved intercity organizational techniques have all combined to
elevate cities on the global stage (Klaus, 2017). This explains the reason why when one talks about a country,
say Japan, one could easily associate it with a major city like Tokyo, or when a person goes to US, New York
is a top of the mind destination. Indeed, Economic technological and networking changes wrought by
globalization have made cities the center of our nation states in almost all aspects.

10. High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information sector
- The presence of technologically driven businesses also necessitates that employment patterns in
most global cities be directed towards a manpower capital pool that is also information oriented. This explains
why the demand for business and IT related graduated is relatively large especially for most global cities. In
addition, the attractiveness to most tourists of global cities also requires services requirements especially in
the Tourism and Hotel Industries (Robinson, 2006).

(Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fhrmasia.com%2Fsingapore-launches-
initiative-to-tackle-talent-crunch-in-tech-industry
%2F&psig=AOvVaw2rhqb7hz_41hFHKhMvYLA_&ust=1651125100338000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0C
AwQjRxqFwoTCPCo-dPGs_cCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD)
File Photo: Singapore IT industry

11. High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universities, international student

attendance and research facilities
- Global cities are destination of choice especially for higher learning and more engaged scholarship,
Global cities possess very commendable literacy rates and is usually the locale of highly renowned
universities. Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo all have very strong records of domestic educational
attainment, including in core subjects such as Math and Science. London and New York's model relies
somewhat more on external talent, and consequently they have a higher share of foreign-born citizens than
their peers (35%+). The instruction and research backbones of these institutions are indeed very strong which
also paves the way for academe - industry linkages thus furthering the growth and mobility of most global
cities. Strongest in the human capital dimension, these cities have a dominant business sector that often
develops as a result of robust university systems that produce technically trained professionals in that
particular industry. Boston, for example, has a longstanding focus on biotech and some of the country's-and
the world's-best universities. Montreal's emerging start-up ecosystem, largely developing from the robotics
program at the Université de Montréal, specializes in artificial intelligence. And Moscow's universities produce
highly trained technical engineers who are prepared to work on IT solutions such as big data and cloud
technology. (Kearney, 2017).
 (Source: https://structurae.net/en/structures/former-ecole-polytechnique)
File Photo: Ecole Polytechnique, one of the best universities in Paris

(Source: https://univero.cc/univer/1265)
File Photo: National University of Singapore
12. Multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and entertainment facilities
in the world
- The growth and development in most Global cities also enable these locales to be important
destinations of some of the most prestigious legal and medical services to be established. The medical
advancements especially in medical research are housed in some of the most sophisticated medical research
hubs found in these global cities. In addition, the infrastructures, ease and effective transportation have also
made these global cities an as entertainment and tourism capitals.
13. High diversity in language, culture, religion, and ideologies
- The cultural dynamics of global cities can be partly seen in the presence of Urban spaces. The
culture of cities manifests itself in the materiality of and in streets, buildings, or signs. Urban space is also the
site of multiple rites practices that range from spirituality and artistic performances to daily life. The fluidity of
global cities allows their inhabitants to engage processes of cultural experimentation, performing a continuous
back-and forth movement between hybridization and pluralization. The former creates enough homogeneity
for the expatriates to feel targeted; the latter ensures a level of cultural diversity necessary to satisfy their
cosmopolitan aspirations (Klaus, 2017).

Analyzing Global Cities

GaWC study

(Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:GaWC_World_Cities.png)
A map showing the distribution of GaWC-ranked world cities (2010 data)

Jon Beaverstock, Richard G. Smith and Peter J. Taylor established the Globalization and World Cities
Research Network (GaWC). A roster of world cities in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 is ranked by their
connectivity through four "advanced producer services": accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law.

The illustration that follows shows a list of alpha cities from the 2016 GaWC study. Notice that Manila
was listed as an Alpha-city. This shows that the economic importance of our National Capital Region
resonates well with global standards and is considered as an emerging global economic player.
(Source: https://www.quora.com/Why-is-it-that-the-Philippines-now-has-a-higher-growth-rate-than-Indonesia)

Global Cities Index

The GCI analyzes 128 Cities in Six World Regions. The Global Cities Index examines the current
performance of cities based on 27 metrics spanning five dimensions: business activity, human capital,
information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. The Index provides insights into the
global reach, performance, and level of development of the world's largest cities. It also allows for the
comparison of diverse cities and the identification of core strengths and distinctive differences.
The Global Cities Outlook evaluates a city's potential based on the rate of change for 13 metrics
across four dimensions: personal well-being, economics, innovation, and governance. These metrics help
evaluate long-term investment and success by assessing elements such as environmental performance;
infrastructure, and innovation capacity. The Outlook brings a forward-looking perspective to city-level policies
and practices that shape future competitiveness, identifying growing cities that are likely to become the
world's most prominent cities.
2017 Global City Index
The illustration below shows the Top 25 Global Cities for 2017.

(Source: https://www.kearney.com/global-cities/2017)

The first 10 cities in the 2016 Index continue to lead in 2017, but the city holding first place has
changed once again. New York City lost the top spot to London in 2016 after years of holding the lead. This
year, New York regained the first-place ranking, largely by improving in information exchange and a
maintaining a higher ranking than London in business activity and political engagement. New York's
performance in these categories offset London's strength in cultural experience, allowing New York to unseat
London. Both cities have high human capital in comparison to other cities in the Index.

Flashpoints on the Concept of a Global City

Sassen (2001) presents her hypotheses for a Global city and its increasing role in the economics
aspect of a nation- state as follows:
Seven fundamental "Global city" hypotheses
1. The geographic dispersal of economic activities that marks globalization, along, with the
simultaneous integration of such geographically dispersed activities, is a key factor feeding the growth and
importance of central corporate functions.
2. These central functions become so complex that increasingly the headquarters of large global firms
outsource them: they buy a share of their central functions from highly specialized service firms.
3. Those specialized service firms engaged in the most complex and globalized markets are subject to
agglomeration economies.
 4. The more headquarters outsource their most complex, un standardized functions, particularly those
subject to uncertain and changing markets, the freer they are to opt for any location.
5. These specialized service firms need to provide a global service which has meant a global network
of affiliates... and a strengthening of cross border city- to-city transactions and networks.
6. The economic fortunes of these cities become increasingly disconnected from their broader
hinterlands or even their national economies.
7. One result of the dynamics described in hypothesis six, is the growing informalization of a range of
economic activities which find their effective demand in these cities, yet have profit rates that do not allow
them to compete for various resources with the high-profit making firms at the top of the system.

As opined by Little (n.d), three key tendencies seem to follow from these structural facts about global
cities. One is a concentration of wealth in the hands of owners, partners, and professionals associated with
the high-end firms in this system. Second is a growing disconnection between the city and its region. And third
is the growth of a large marginalized population that has a very hard time earning a living in the marketplace
defined by these high-end activities. Rather than constituting an economic engine that gradually elevates the
income and welfare of the whole population, the modern global city funnels global surpluses into the hands of
a global elite dispersed over a few dozen global cities.
These tendencies seem to line up well with several observable features of modern urban life
throughout much of the world: a widening separation in quality of life between a relatively smal! elite and a
much larger marginalized population; a growth of high-security gated communities and shopping areas; and
dramatically different graphs of median income for different socioeconomic groups. New York, London, and
Hong Kong/Shanghai represent a huge concentration of financial and business networks, and the
concentration of wealth that these produces is manifest. These features of the global city economic system
imply a widening set of inequalities between elite professionals and specialists and the larger urban
population of service and industrial workers (Geniş, 2007).
They also imply a widening set of inequalities between North and South. Sassen's conceptual
architecture maintains a place for location and space: global cities are not disembodied, and the functioning of
their global firms depends on a network of activities and lesser firms within the spatial scope of the city and its
environs. So Sassen believes there is space for political contest between parties over the division of the
global surplus. Sassen explores the impact of globalization at the micro-level, and in particular its
consequences for the people living in these cities; from the highly specialized workers of legal, accounting,
and advertising firms, to the powerless, 'invisible' individuals who live on the fringes, such as migrant and low-
wage workers and the homeless or disadvantaged (Leorke, n,d).
If we consider that global cities concentrate both the leading sectors of global capital and a growing
share of disadvantaged populations (immigrants, many of the disadvantaged women, people of color
generally, and, in the megacities of developing countries, masses of shanty dwellers) then we can see that
cities have become a strategic terrain for a whole series of conflicts and contradictions. In the next topic, our
discussion brings us to how migration, mobility and the global city are intertwined (Dematteis, 2000).

Migration, Mobility and the Global City

We have discussed previously how Global cities act as important hubs for economic, political and
even cultural exchanges. The lights and sounds of the city has definitely lured people to settle in various
global cities either to find a more stable and gainful employment amidst a more conducive environment for
raising families. The rise of Globalization, in a massive scale has influenced the creation of the Global city has
also created avenues for people to migrate (Hall and Pain, 2006). It is important now to look into how
migration and people mobility exists in the Global city.
In this era of globalization, the world is now 'borderless' in which capital, information and production
can be moved across national border seamlessly. While globalization has blurred the distinction between
countries, the flow of economic resources, such as human capital and financial capital, has become easier
than ever before. In effect, globalization redefines the relationships between economic production and
territoriality, social processes and institutions. This borderless realm has also contributed to the rise of
migration into global cities. The contention is held that without the contribution by international migrants, a
person who moves from one place to another to seek a better living (Anderson, 2015), global cities might not
be as impactful as they are in the development of the global economy. Global cities are attractive to firms due
to the possibility of being able to tap a diverse pool of highly skilled labor, including the expatriate (Brenner,
1998).

(Source: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/shibuya-crossing-tokyo-japan/index.html)
File Photo: Shibuya Crossing in Japan

But to what extent has the development of the Global city affected migration? To begin with, according
to Sassen (1991), the geography of globalization consists both a dynamic dispersal and centralization. With
globalization, the increasing spatial dispersal of economic activities at metropolitan, national, and global level
has contributed to the need of a new territorial centralization of top-level management and central corporate
functions.
As those central corporate functions, such as human resources, technology, compliance, are
becoming more complex, many large global firms outsource them to highly specialized firms. To benefit from
agglomeration economies, these transnational companies would operate in global cities, where they are
closely clustered with specialized service firms. In urban economics, firms can achieve economies of scales
and network effects when agglomerating with each other; with more firms of related business engage in the
clustering of economic activity, cost of production decreases, hence increasing returns to scale (Glaeser,
2011).
As such, both the large global firm and the specialized service firm could benefit in operating closely in
global cities. When those specialized firms provide global services, their global network is strengthened. In the
long-run, this business practice would positively impact the global economy, since people's employment is
secured, and at the same time, both firms who engage in the international trade in services would be
benefited. Therefore, it is clear that global cities are central to the development of the global economy in
general and employment-oriented migration in particular (Alderson, et al (2010).
 Nowadays, many large corporations invest substantially in corporate technology to streamline their
businesses. As such, technology consulting companies, such as Accenture, IBM, receive plenty of business
opportunities (Taylor, 2004).
Other than outsourcing, many TNCs choose to near-shore or offshore their central corporate functions
to save cost and most importantly, avoid the risk of customer's data leak. A near-shoring example would be
Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley operating in Birmingham and Glasgow respectively, where their
technology and compliance centers are located due to the lower operating cost, compared to that of London,
the global city. Additionally, many financial institutions offshore their technology function to Bangalore - Silicon
Valley of India. While off shoring can benefit the global economy, as it provides job security for employees in
the offshore offices, over-reliance on certain type of services i.e. technology would hinder the long-term
development of a country. It could be argued that such pigeonholing is a form of division of labor and
economies of scale, through which employees can do what they do best, and at the same time, the employers
can operate at a better cost-level. Equally importantly, the off shoring business could provide a better
standard of living for people in the developing countries like India; nevertheless, this may lead to wealth
inequality between the offshore city and the rest of the country, for instance, 39.93% of people in Chhattisgarh
are living below poverty line, which is almost double than that of Karnataka (the state of Bangalore) with
20.91% (Reserve Bank of India, 2014).
Without the contribution by international migrants, a person who moves from one place to another to
seek a better living, Anderson, (2015) suggests that global cities might not be as impactful as they are in the
development of the global economy. As suggested by (Findlay, Li, Jowett and Skeldon, 1996), global cities
are attractive to firms due to the possibility of being able to tap a diverse pool of highly skilled labor, including
the expatriate. Nowadays, 'diversity' (in any form, e.g. racial, gender, cultural) has become one of the
'corporate values for many TNCs (Transnational Corporations). Companies tend to hire more people from
different backgrounds. In particular, highly skilled migrants, such as senior or middle management, are
popular in the labor market.
To evaluate, the impact of highly skilled migrants in global cities is also determined upon the business
needs in that particular city. In Hong Kong's asset wealth management industry, there used to be a significant
presence of the non-Chinese or expatriates in the pre-handover colonial time before 1997, working as
portfolio managers or private bankers to serve the foreign or British tycoons who reside in the city. However,
in modern times, given the rise of Chinese's wealth, those highly skilled international migrants, i.e. non-
Chinese private bankers, are forced to leave Hong Kong, since investment banks tend to hire Chinese-
speaking private bankers to serve their new targeted customers i.e. the Chinese tycoons. As such, the impact
of the highly skilled migrants (in this case, the non-Chinese-speaking private bankers) in global city (i.e. Hong
Kong) is dependent on the business needs and the clients' expectation (Taylor, 2001).
In global cities, lowly skilled migrants are equally attractive. For example, in Hong Kong, physical-
based occupations like security guards and construction workers employ plenty of migrants from the
Southeast Asian countries due to the lack of the supply of labor in those business sectors. Regardless of their
aspiration, whether it is to seek permanent residency or to purely earn a better living, these lowly skilled
workers have undoubtedly contributed much to the local city, as being part of the labor force in that particular
sector. However, the impact of international migrants in global cities also depends on the work nature and the
skill set requirement of that particular job. Taking the financial services intuitions in London as example, while
TNCS hope to recruit more international migrants to boost their 'diversity ratio', many of the recruited
international migrants are based on non-client facing roles like the middle or back office in investment banks
(Lam, 2016). In effect, the argument holds that since the opportunities are present and well defined in most
global cities, the tendency for migration to increase in these areas over time is also very apparent and most
likely to happen.

Global City and Mobility

An increasing migration tendency and the desire to live in the cities bring several problems closely knit
to urbanization. One of these concerns mobility of people. By 2050, 70 percent of the people on earth will live
in cities. And if current trends continue, those people are likely to face even more crowded conditions, polluted
air, and overburdened infrastructures than we do today. Urbanization statistics warn us that the quality of life
in many cities will be decided by the degree to which major cities can implement intelligent, sustainable
transport solutions. Traffic indeed a problem especially in highly populated cities. Traffic congestion is
increasingly becoming a global issue, with drivers spending nearly 50% of their driving time in traffic in some
cities around the world. The Philippines is no exception. In Manila, traffic is worsening and according to a
study done by the Boston Consulting Group, motorists and commuters get stuck in traffic for an average of 66
minutes daily. The said study conducted in 2017 places Metro Manila 3rd worst in the South East Asian
region, with an average of 66 minutes stuck in traffic daily. It comes after Bangkok, Thailand, which is said to
have the worst traffic (72 minutes), and 2nd worst Jakarta, Indonesia (68 minutes). The worsening traffic in
Metro Manila now costs P3.5 billion in lost opportunities per day, highlighting the need for new and modern
infrastructure to ease congestion according to a study made by Japan International Cooperation Agency
(JICA). The best performers in terms of traffic are Singapore (30 minutes) and Hong Kong (35 minutes), two
Asian states considered as global cities.

(Source: https://theconversation.com/how-ride-hailing-could-improve-public-transportation-instead-of-
undercutting-it-96453)
File photo: Singapore traffic

It gets worse for Manila residents during rush hours however. The illustration below shows the traffic
conditions during peak hours of travel.

(Source: https://www.rappler.com/business/190016-metro-manila-traffic-southeast-asia-study-bcg-uber/)
 BCG Uber Survey, 2017

(Source: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/08/09/1841077/poe-mmda-dont-be-too-hasty-edsa-driver-
only-car-ban)
Photo: Rush Hour Traffic in EDSA

Investing in Public Transit

Banning cars may mitigate the traffic conditions but is not at all an effective solution. One
consideration is by investing on Public railways (Brenner, 1998). Most alpha cities possess a very elaborate
yet so effective mass transport system. One has to look into the MTR of Hongkong or the MRT of Taiwan and
the generalization could be made how an efficient mass train system can effectively lessen road traffic. The
city of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is a good example of the tremendous efforts that are being made in this area.
Riyadh, which has five million inhabitants and is still rapidly growing, is now planning the world's biggest
subway project, which will be 175 kilometers long (Lam, 2016).
Multilateral agencies have put forward the improvement of public infrastructure as a long-term solution
to traffic congestion. The study echoes this, pointing out that Manila, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh have all
announced plans to invest more than $60 billion in rail infrastructure by 2022. The Philippine government is
trying to address the poor infrastructure situation with its Build, Build, Build campaign, which seeks to raise
public spending on infrastructure from 5.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) this year to 7.4% by 2022 in
which a big chunk will be funneled down towards improving the mass transport system.
 (Source: https://philkotse.com/market-news/dotr-mrt-7-2022-completion-10968)
MRT 7 Construction in full swing

Reference Book:
Coronacion, D. & Clilung, F. (2018). Convergence: A College Textbook in Contemporary World. Books
Atbp. Publishing Corp.