AP® Human Geography review sheet from Aim for Five (aimforfive.com/geo/units/6/6-3)
Unit 6 · Topic 6.3
6.3 Cities and Globalization
World cities, such as New York, London and Tokyo, are the command centers of the global economy, outranking every other city in the urban hierarchy. Cities are linked by flows of money, people, goods and information, and new ideas often spread down the hierarchy from world cities to smaller ones.
Key terms
- world city
- global city
- urban hierarchy
- hierarchical diffusion
- globalization
What makes a world city
A world city (or global city) is a major center of the global economy. Sociologist Saskia Sassen's 1991 book The Global City focused on New York, London and Tokyo. World cities aren't defined by population size; they're defined by connections and control.
They usually have:
- Headquarters of large multinational corporations and major banks.
- Stock exchanges and financial services, plus law, accounting and consulting firms that serve global companies.
- Major media, culture and tourism.
- Huge airports and transportation hubs connecting them to the rest of the world.
- Universities, research centers and international organizations.
Rankings and networks
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) ranks cities by how connected they are through business service firms. London and New York sit at the top of its rankings, followed by cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai, Paris and Tokyo.
A big population doesn't make a world city. Dhaka and Kinshasa have far more people than Zurich or Singapore but much less global economic control. Some world cities also rose quickly, like Dubai, which became a global hub for air travel, finance and trade in just a few decades.
The urban hierarchy and how things spread
An urban hierarchy ranks cities by size and function. At the top are world cities, then large regional or national centers, then smaller cities and towns. Higher-ranked places offer more specialized services and have more connections.
Hierarchical diffusion (3.4) often follows this ladder: a new fashion trend, restaurant chain or technology often appears first in world cities, then spreads to large regional cities, and only later reaches small towns. That happens because world cities have more connections, more people and the businesses that launch new products.
Cities also help pass along global processes to places around them. Decisions made in a world city's headquarters, like where to build a factory or open a call center, reshape economies in distant places (7.7).
Globalization at different scales
At the global scale, world cities are connected to each other more tightly than to many places in their own countries. At the national scale, a world city can dominate its country's economy, as London does in the United Kingdom. At the local scale, global firms and high-paid workers can push up housing costs, adding to inequality within the city (6.10).
Worked examples
Try each one yourself first, then open the solution.
- Example 1
Explaining a world city's role
Explain one way world cities influence places outside their own country.
Show the solutionHide the solution
- Step 1: Name a world city function: headquarters of multinational corporations.
- Step 2: Explain the decision-making power: executives there choose where to invest, build or outsource.
- Step 3: Show the effect elsewhere with an example.
Answer: Model answer: World cities like New York and London hold the headquarters of multinational corporations and banks. Decisions made there about where to build factories, open offices or lend money determine where jobs and investment go, so a choice in a London boardroom can create or eliminate thousands of jobs in a city in India or Mexico.
Common mistakes
- Defining a world city by population size. The key is global economic, political and cultural influence.
- Assuming every capital city is a world city. Many capitals have little global economic role.
- Describing hierarchical diffusion as spreading to the nearest place first. It jumps from large, connected places to other large places, then down the hierarchy.
On the exam
- Expect to explain why a city is a world city using specific functions like stock exchanges and corporate headquarters.
- Be ready to connect world cities to globalization and to hierarchical diffusion.
Connected topics
Videos
Check yourself
4 questions on 6.3 Cities and Globalization. Pick an answer to see if you got it, and why.
Which characteristic most clearly identifies a city such as London or New York as a world city?
A new style of restaurant opens first in New York and London, then in Chicago and Toronto, and only later in smaller cities in the same countries. This pattern of spread follows
Which statement best describes a consequence of globalization for world cities, viewed at different scales?
Geographers often rank world cities by the number and type of global firms, such as banks, law firms and advertising agencies, with offices there. This measure is most useful for showing a city's
0 of 4 answered