Rethinking Attributes of a 'Global' City: the Case of the United States

  • Baruch A. Kipnis University of Haifa
Keywords: 'Global' City, City System, International Presence, Producer Services, Decision Making and Control, Manufacturing Competitiveness, Pro-Business Attitude

Abstract

Notwithstanding the fact that many of the U.S. standard metropolitan areas (SMAs) seek 'global' status, most recent research on the world's system of 'global cities' refers to the upper level segment of that system, in which but a few large u.s. SMAs are mentioned. Four indices and four variables, compiled in order to determine which of the sixty largest u.s. SMAs will best meet the global' challenges in the 21st century, are analyzed in order to portray the nature of u.s. global' city systems. The International Presence index, denoting the existence of decisioll-making and control and of producer services functions  in a metropolis, which correlated positively with the four global' environmental attributes, correlated poorly with the Manufacturing Competitiveness index of a metropolis. Both indices scored poor correlation coefficients with the subjective Pro-business Attitude rank of an SMA, listed among the leading attributes defining a 'global' city environment. With the increasing number of cities aspiring for a global scope of activities, more research is needed in order to define the best list of variables necessary to define which of the urban agglomerations involved will best meet the 'global' challenges in the 21st century.

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Published
2016-02-17