Aglobal city (also known as apower city,world city,alpha city, orworld center) is acity that serves as a primary node in theglobal economic network. The concept originates fromgeography andurban studies, based on the thesis thatglobalization has created a hierarchy of strategicgeographic locations with varying degrees of influence overfinance,trade, andculture worldwide.[1][2][3] The global city represents the most complex and significant hub within the international system, characterized by links binding it to other cities that have direct, tangible effects on globalsocioeconomic affairs.[4]
The criteria of a global city vary depending on the source.[5] Common features include a high degree ofurban development, a large population, the presence of majormultinational companies, a significant and globalizedfinancial sector, a well-developed and internationally linkedtransportation infrastructure, local or national economic dominance, high quality educational andresearch institutions, and a globally influential output of ideas, innovations, or cultural products. Global city rankings are numerous.[6]New York City,London,Tokyo, andParis are the most commonly mentioned.[7][8]
Origin and terminology
The term 'global city' was popularized bysociologistSaskia Sassen in her 1991 book,The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.[9] Before then, other terms were used for urban centers with roughly the same features. The term 'world city', meaning a city heavily involved in global trade, appeared in a May 1886 description ofLiverpool, byThe Illustrated London News;[10] British sociologist andgeographerPatrick Geddes used the term in 1915.[11] The term 'megacity' entered common use in the late 19th or early 20th century, the earliest known example being a publication by theUniversity of Texas in 1904.[12] In the 21st century, the terms are usually focused on a city'sfinancial power andhigh technology infrastructure.[13][14]
Competing groups have devised competing means to classify and rank world cities and to distinguish them from other cities.[11] Although there is a consensus on the leading world cities,[16] the chosen criteria affect which other cities are included.[11] Selection criteria may be based on a yardstick value (e.g., if the producer-service sector is the largest sector then cityX is a world city)[11] or on an imminent determination (if the producer-service sector of cityX is greater than the combined producer-service sectors ofN other cities then cityX is a world city.)[11] Although criteria are variable and fluid, typical characteristics of world cities include:[17]
TheGlobalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a Britishthink tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context ofglobalization. It is based in thegeography department ofLoughborough University inLeicestershire, United Kingdom. GaWC was founded byPeter J. Taylor in 1998.[20] Together with Jon Beaverstock andRichard G. Smith, they create the GaWC's biennial categorization of world cities into "Alpha", "Beta" and "Gamma" tiers. The three tiers are further divided into subgroupings using plus and minus signs. The categorization is based upon the author's views of "international connectedness", primarily shown through a regions advanced services firms, such as in accountancy, finance and law).[21] Primarily concerned with what it calls the "advanced producer services" of accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law, the cities in the top two classifications in the 2024 edition are:[22]
Advisory firmOxford Economics ranks the world's largest 1,000 cities based on 27 indicators across five categories (economics,human capital,quality of life, environment, andgovernance) with more weight on economic factors. The top ranked cities in 2025 are:[27]
The Tokyo-based Institute for Urban Strategies at The Mori Memorial Foundation, issued a study of global cities in 2008. They are ranked in six categories: economy, research and development, cultural interaction,livability, environment, and accessibility. The top 10 cities in 2024 are:[28]
Consultancy firm Resonance publishes the World's Best Cities ranking. They are ranked in three categories: livability, lovability and prosperity, each of them using different factors. The top 10 cities in 2025 are:[29]
^"Struggling Giants". University of Minnesota Press.Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved31 December 2020.
^Abrahamson, Mark (2004).Global cities(PDF) (1st ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. p. 4.ISBN978-0195142044.Archived(PDF) from the original on 11 January 2021. Retrieved9 January 2021.
^abcdeDoel, M., & Hubbard, P., (2002), "Taking World Cities Literally: Marketing the City in a Global Space of flows",City, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 351–368. Subscription required.
^Jones, Huw (24 March 2022)."New York widens lead over London in top finance centres index".Reuters.Archived from the original on 8 October 2022. Retrieved10 September 2022.Rankings are based on surveys and 150 factors, with quantitative measures from the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD and United Nations.
^Yoshio Okubo (October 2014)."Comparison of Global Financial Center"(PDF).Harvard Law School, Program on International Financial Systems, Japan-U.S. Symposium. Archived fromthe original on 30 May 2015. Retrieved30 May 2015.
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