Cities & Globalization (College Board AP® Human Geography)

A world city or global city is a city that serves as a hub for:

• global culture

• economics

• politics 

World cities influence cultural trends and economic activity far beyond their own country’s borders 

World cities are often home to:

• multinational corporations

• important stock exchanges

• many finance companies 

They also tend to have famous museums and may host the headquarters of international political institutions, such as the United Nations

Examples of world cities include:

• London

• Tokyo

• Paris

• New York City

Due to the effects of globalization, world cities often have more in common with one another than they do with other areas in their own countries

Cities are connected across the globe by cultural, economic, and telecommunication networks 

World cities:

• possess more authority in terms of cultural outreach

• have significant economic and political influence 

• function at the top of the urban hierarchy

• have influence around the globe

• are connected and serve as driving forces in globalization

World cities are nodes for international trade, finance, and commerce 

• Multinational corporations  tend to locate their headquarters in world cities

• Time Warner, Pfizer and HBO are examples of companies with headquarters in New York

World cities are often sites for influential cultural institutions, such as:

• museums 

• theaters

• visual arts

• movies

World cities are connected by strong transportation and communication networks

• Well-served airports and high-speed internet capabilities, for example, make global interconnectivity easier

World cities facilitate globalization and economic integration by connecting national and regional economies to international markets

• They also connect international markets in their role as economic hubs

World cities also serve as sites of cultural exchange and diffusion

• Many different people live in world cities, making them diverse melting pots of different cultures, religions, and languages

• The influence of world cities also means that the trends and cultures of those cities tend to be exported around the globe

The gravity model predicts the degree of interaction and probability of movement between two places. It is based on:

• the size of the places (population or economic power)

• the distance between them

The key principles of the gravity model are:

• Large locations exert a stronger pull than small ones

  • New York exerts a greater influence than a smaller city like Des Moines, Iowa

• While interaction typically decreases with distance, two large locations (e.g. London and Tokyo) will have significant interaction even if they are further apart

As the importance of one or both places increases, the interaction between them will also increase

• For example, world cities such as London, New York, and Tokyo have connections through:

  • trade

  • culture

  • finance

  • technology

World cities have high levels of interaction with one another despite their distance apart