Republic of the Philippines

CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY

PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Reporters: Daliva, Jerwin A. Course Facilitator: Michael A. Bañas

De Asis, Jemuel B.
Banday, Rolin Faye B.
Begas, Alaica A.
Beramo, Loren Joy B.

GLOBAL CITIES

At the end of this topic, you are expected to:

1. Understood the concept of global cities and its characteristics.
2. Identified the various global cities and the indices upon which they are measured.
3. Determined the other side of global cities and how these can be managed effectively.

What is a global city?

The global city, alpha city or world city is called the cities endowed with relevant competitive
advantages and that serve as the axis of a globalized economic system . They are cities forged by
the double effect of a constantly growing urbanization, and the pressures of the economic and
social process of globalization.

Global cities are generally cities of international importance and renown . They occupy an
extensive urban platform (and therefore with a huge population ) and play an active role in the
economic, social and technological flow in their region, or even on the planet.

These types of cities are contemporary equivalents to the city-states of antiquity . In fact, many of
them have political and administrative autonomy, or even their own Constitution that determines
their laws .

In short, they are relevant cities for the world order , that is to say, model cities of contemporary
global capitalism.

Global cities are the ones that best enter the panorama of globalization . They are integrated into
the world dynamics of economic exchange, cultural and demographic flow and new technologies
.

In this sense, they are the urban spearhead of the new millennium : the most complex innovation
processes , the scientific-technological summits, take place there. They are the ones that invest the
most in university research and that concentrate the most transnational capital.
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Origin of the global city

The concept of "global city" was coined by the sociologist Saskia Sassen in her book The Global
City (1991).In it he refers to London, Tokyo, Paris and New York , as opposed to the term
“megacities”.However, it is the Department of Geography at Loughborough University in the
United Kingdom that is the main promoter of the term, which should not be confused with that of
"Global Village" .

Saskia sassen
She was born in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 1949 . She is a Dutch sociologist, writer and
teacher, winner of the 2013 Prince of Asturias Prize in Social Sciences.
She is the author of La Ciudad Global (1991, republished in 2001) , a book in which she proposed
her model of study and understanding of globalization from economic, social, political and cultural
perspectives.

What are the characteristics of global city?

A global city is a term used to describe a city that is considered an important center for global
economic, political, and cultural activity. Characteristics of a global city include:

Economic Power: Global cities are often considered economic powerhouses and are home to
major corporations and financial institutions. They serve as hubs for international trade, finance,
and investment.

Cultural Diversity: Global cities are known for their diverse populations and cultural offerings.
They attract people from all over the world and offer a wide range of cultural amenities, including
museums, theaters, and art galleries.

Global Connectivity: Global cities have excellent transportation infrastructure and are well-
connected to other major cities around the world. They often have large airports, seaports, and
advanced communication networks.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship: Global cities are often centers of innovation and
entrepreneurship. They are home to cutting-edge technology companies, startups, and research
institutions that drive innovation and creativity.
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Political Power: Global cities often have significant political power and influence, both nationally
and internationally. They may be home to national governments, international organizations, and
diplomatic missions

Quality of Life: Global cities tend to offer a high quality of life, with access to good education,
healthcare, and public services. They also have vibrant cultural scenes and a range of recreational
opportunities.

High Cost of Living: Due to their economic and cultural prominence, global cities are often
expensive places to live, with high housing costs, high taxes, and high living expenses in general.

CLASSIFICATION OF GLOBAL CITIES

There are various studies on the subject, each with its own scale. For example, the study "Foreign
Policy" (2008) , carried out by the magazine of the same name, evaluated the main cities of the
world based on five specific areas:

1. Business activity

2. Human capital

3. Exchange of information

4. Cultural activity

5. Political compromise

With these data, she developed a ranking of the 65 cities that could be considered global. In 2010
this study was updated and called “The Global City Index”.

The Global Cities Index provides a comprehensive ranking of the leading global cities from the
world. It is designed to track the way cities maneuver as their populations grow and the world
continues to shrink.
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

The much better-known GaWC study (1999) from Loughborough University used its own
methodology that defined the criteria for considering a city worldwide. Their results were
classified

1. Alpha. 12 to 10 points.

2. Beta. 9 to 7 points.

3. Gamma. 6 to 4 points

In addition, it drew up a list of potential world cities (3 points) , cities with medium potential for
it (2 points) and cities with low potential (1 point).

This last study was repeated in 2004 , at the same institution, with similar results, and again in
2008, making its results even more specific by dividing each category (alpha, beta, gamma) into
three subgroups: Alpha ++, Alpha + and Alpha (and so on). This study was done again in 2010
and 2012.

ALPHA CITIES

An alpha city is a city which plays a major role in the international community. Alpha cities have
tremendous economic, political, and social clout, and they are viewed as primary hubs for global
industry, in addition to centers of culture.

BETA CITIES

Beta cities, according to the GaWC study, are those that do not yet accumulate the critical mass to
rise as axes of regional or international influence in the midst of the globalized panorama. However,
they are not negligible in an evaluation of it.This means that they are in transition towards
globalization , but that they are highly industrialized cities, with a large population and a significant
state or national presence.

GAMMA CITIES
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Gamma cities are still a long way from being global cities. They are still anchored in economic ,
financial and sociocultural processes typical of the 20th century or the entry into modernity. They
are generally capitals of the so-called Third World . Although they are important urban centers,
they are not really key pieces of the global economy, nor do they participate too much in events of
international magnitude, nor do they have a notorious cultural influence on the region.

POST-INDUSTRIAL CITIES

Global cities are, in functional terms, post-industrial cities . In which high-level tertiary functions
predominate: financial, bureaucratic, IT and technological.In this they are distinguished from cities
anchored to mechanisms of production (primary) or manufacturing (secondary), still linked to the
processes of the Industrial Revolution .In this sense, global cities obey the technological revolution
of the late twentieth century.

here’s a list with the latest data from 2020. Spotted by Locals cities (many of which are in one of
the categories) are linked if you want to check our latest tips for those cities.

Alpha ++ cities Beta + cities Gamma +

This category refers to cities Beta cities are ones with a Gamma cities are ones with a
which are most integrated with moderate economic connection minor economic connection with
the global economy. with the world economy. the world economy.

 London  Washington DC  San Jose

 New York  Dallas  Kolkata
 Bogota  Charlotte
 Miami  St Louis
 Rome  Pune
 Hamburg  Antwerp
 Houston  Rotterdam
 Berlin  Adelaide
 Chengdu  Porto
 Düsseldorf  Baku
 Tel Aviv  Guadalajara
 Barcelona  Ljubljana
 Budapest  Qingdao
 Doha  Algiers
 Lima  Suzhou
 Copenhagen  Belfast
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

 Atlanta  Glasgow
 Bucharest  Medellin
 Vancouver  Cologne
 Brisbane  Phnom Penh
 Cairo  Islamabad
 Beirut  Phoenix
 Auckland.  Riga
 Tbilisi
 Kunming
 Ahmedabad
 Dar Es Salaam, Hefei
 Orlando
 Baltimore
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Alpha + cities Beta Gamma

Alpha+ cities are the primary  Ho Chi Minh City  Durban
cities in the global economic  Athens  Vilnius
network.  Denver  Gothenburg
 Tianjin  San Juan
 Hong Kong  Abu Dhabi  Nantes
 Singapore
 Perth  Ankara
 Shanghai  Casablanca  Santa Domingo
 Beijing  Kyiv  Wroclaw
 Dubai  Montevideo,  Ottawa
 Paris  Oslo  Dakar
 Tokyo  Helsinki  Malmö
 Chennai  Bristo
 Hanoi  Tirana
 Nanjing  Colombo
 Philadelphia  Turin
 Cape Town  Valencia
 Hangzhou  Guayaquil
 Nairobi  Taizhong/Tai hung
 Seattle  Managua
 Manama  La Paz
 Karachi  Nashville
 Rio de Janeiro  Tegucigalpa
 Chongqing  Haikou
 Panama City  Wellington.

Alpha cities Beta – Gamma –

An alpha city is a city that  Wuhan  Port Louis
plays a huge role in the  Manchester  Accra
international community.  Geneva  Asuncion
 Osaka  Bilbao
 Sydney  Stuttgart  Maputo
 Los Angeles  Belgrade  Douala
 Madrid  Calgary  Nassau
 Toronto  Monterrey  Harare
 Mumbai  Kuwait City  Poznan
 Amsterdam  Caracas  Luanda
 Milan  Changsha  Cleveland
 Frankfurt
 Bratislava  Fuzhou
 Mexico City  Sofia  Nagoya
 Sao Paolo
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

 Chicago  San Jose  Kansas City

 Kuala Lumpur  Zagreb  Katowice
 Moscow  Dhaka  Málaga
 Jakarta  Xiamen  Queretar
 Brussels  Tampa  Harbin
 Zhengzhou  Milwaukee
 Tunis  Penang
 Almaty  Salt Lake City
 Shenyang  Columbus (Ohio)
 Lyon  Kaohsiung
 Minneapolis  Limassol
 Nicosia  Sacramento
 San Diego  Belo Horizonte
 Amman  Lausanne
 Xi’An  Taiyuan
 Guatemala City  Edmonton.
 Dalian
 St Petersburg
 Lagos
 Quito
 Jinan
 San Salvador
 Kampala
 George Town (Cayman
Islands)
 Muscat/Ruwi
 Detroit
 Edinburgh
 Jeddah
 Hyderabad
 Lahore
 Austin
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Alpha – cities
 Warsaw
 Seoul
 Johannesburg
 Zurich
 Melbourne
 Istanbul
 Bangkok
 Stockholm
 Vienna
 Guangzhou
 Dublin
 Taipei
 Buenos Aires
 San Francisco
 Luxembourg
 Montreal
 Munich
 Delhi
 Santiago
 Boston
 Manilla
 Shenzhen
 Riyadh
 Lisbon
 Prague
 Bangalore

LIST OF GLOBAL CITIES

There are many cities around the world that could be considered global cities, but here are some
of the most well-known are:

New York City, USA

 Home to a population that speaks over 200 languages

 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

 37% of New Yorkers were born outside of the United States, and as many as 49% speak a
language other than English at home.

 With public signage written in many different languages, NYC is making it easier for non-
English speakers to live and work comfortably in the city.

 Each neighborhood in NYC has unique strengths and demographics, allowing businesses to
find a borough and community to match their needs.

 Over three million New Yorkers are foreign-born, and almost 50% of the city's businesses are
owned by immigrants.

London, UK

 London is a transport hub to many other destinations; Europe and the world.

 It is populous and diverse (nearly a third of the city's population is from black, asian or other
minority ethnic (BAME) groups.

 Londoners speak over 300 languages and belong to at least 14 different faiths: hosting the
world in a city).

 Financial and Business services: home to 33% of European HQs of Global Fortune 500.

 The capital boasts 4,500 world-class researchers and renowned medical and clinical trial
centres.

 Over 42 Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) London's academic excellence is underpinned by

the greatest concentration of HEIs in Europe

Tokyo, Japan

 Tokyo is known for its outstanding market scale

 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

 accumulation of globally leading companies

 substantial and punctual public transportation

 excellent public safety, hospitality, and cleanliness.

And other global cities such as ;

Paris, France,

Hong Kong, China

Los Angeles, USA

Singapore

Chicago, USA

Beijing, China

Sydney, Australia

Shanghai, China

Dubai, UAE

San Francisco, USA

Toronto, Canada

Seoul, South Korea

Amsterdam, Netherlands
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Madrid, Spain

Moscow, Russia

Sao Paulo, Brazil

Mumbai, India.

OTHER SIDES OF GLOBAL CITIES

Global cities conjure up images of fast-paced exciting, cosmopolitan lifestyle however

global cities has their undersides. They can be sites of great inequality and poverty as well as
tremendous violence. Like the broader process of globalization, global cities create winners and
lossers.

 INEQUALITY
Global cities often experience high levels of income inequality.
While they attract wealthy individuals and businesses, they also have large
populations of low-income residents who may struggle to access
affordable housing, education, healthcare, and other basic services.
 GENTRIFICATION
The rapid growth and development of global cities can lead to
gentrification, where lower-income neighborhoods are transformed into
more upscale areas. This can result in the displacement of long-time
residents and the loss of community and cultural diversity.
 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Global cities tend to have high levels of pollution, congestion, and
resource consumption. The concentration of people, industries, and
transportation networks can contribute to environmental degradation,
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

including air and water pollution, increased energy consumption, and

waste generation.
 SOCIAL FRAGMENTATION
The fast-paced nature of global cities can lead to social
fragmentation and a sense of disconnection among residents. The
transient nature of populations, cultural diversity, and fast-paced lifestyle
can make it challenging to build strong social bonds and a sense of
Community.

 INFRASTRUCTURE STRAIN

The rapid growth and influx of people in global cities can strain
existing infrastructure, including transportation systems, housing,
healthcare facilities, and public services. This can lead to overcrowding,
inadequate infrastructure, and increased pressure on resources.

WAYS TO MANAGE THE OTHER SIDE OF GLOBAL CITIES

1.SOCIAL INCLUSION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Promote social inclusion by ensuring that all residents have access
to basic services, education, healthcare, and affordable housing.
Encourage community engagement through participatory decision-making
processes, fostering a sense of belonging and ownership among residents.

2. ECONOMIC DIVERSIFICATION AND JOB CREATION

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CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

Foster economic diversification by attracting a range of industries

and promoting entrepreneurship. Create job opportunities through
targeted investment in sectors such as technology, innovation, and
sustainable industries. Provide training and support programs to enhance
the skills of the local workforce.

3. INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT
Invest in infrastructure development to improve connectivity,
transportation, and access to basic services. This includes building and
maintaining efficient public transportation systems, upgrading utilities,
and developing green spaces for recreation and environmental
sustainability.

4. ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Implement sustainable practices to mitigate the environmental

impact of urbanization. This includes promoting renewable energy, waste
management, green building practices, and preserving natural resources.
Encourage sustainable transportation options such as cycling and walking,
and create green spaces to improve the quality of life for residents.

6. EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE

Ensure access to quality education and healthcare services for all
residents. Invest in schools, colleges, and universities to provide
opportunities for skill development and lifelong learning. Improve
healthcare infrastructure and services to meet the needs of the growing
population.
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz

7. COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS

Foster collaboration between government, private sector, civil

society organizations, and residents to address the challenges faced by
the other side of global cities. Engage in public-private partnerships to
leverage resources and experiences and expertise for sustainable
development.

References

Wigman, L. (2021) “10 Characteristic of Global City, It’s Classification, Types, Features, and
Examples.” Collaborative Research Group
Milan, Kubina., et al. (2021) “Managing Global Smart Cities in an Era of 21st Century
Challenges” Faculty of Management Science and Informatics, University of Zilina
Allen Carl (2021) “TCW The Global City” https://www.scribd.com/document
https://www.spottedbylocals.com/blog/alpha-beta-and-gamma-cities
Floyd Whaley (2014) “Strained Infrastructure in Philippines Erodes the Nation’s Growth
Prospects”
 Republic of the Philippines
CAPIZ STATE UNIVERSITY
PONTEVEDRA CAMPUS
Bailan, Pontevedra, Capiz