worldcities

World Cities: 

World Cities Primary sources: Mike Savage & Alan Warde Saskia Sassen

Uneven urban development: 

Uneven urban development division of labor is fundamental to industrial capitalism within firms & factories within cities & regions between cities & regions Division of labor at a large scale (“world system”) accounts for uneven urban development

Slide3: 

“The dynamics of the world system affect the way that cities develop and decline. A recognition of this belies a linear historical view of urban differentiation—where different urban forms are reflections of the specific period which any given city has reached in an evolutionary urban cycle—implying instead that spatial dynamics of the world system profoundly shape urban form.” Savage & Warde, p.268

Slide5: 

“Information technologies, often thought of as neutralizing geography, actually contribute to spatial concentration. They make possible the geographic dispersal and simultaneous integration of many activities. But the particular conditions under which such facilities are available have promoted centralization of the most advanced users in the most advanced telecommunications centers.” Saskia Sassen, p.209

A Typology of Cities: 

A Typology of Cities Global Cities (World Cities) Declining Industrial Cities New Industrial Districts Third World Cities Socialist Cities

World Cities of Various Ranks: 

World Cities of Various Ranks J.V. Beaverstock, R.G. Smith and P.J. Taylor: A Roster of World Cities

World Cities: 

World Cities Maintain an economic hinterland that reaches beyond the borders of the state Acts as a control point for international flows of capital and information Attract the headquarters of transnational corporations and producer services companies Attract wide range of workers leading to extreme income gaps

Slide11: 

Henry Wagner: http://www.henrywagner.org/pictures/NYC/Air/air_031.htm

Slide12: 

Any question where this is?

Slide13: 

Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan

Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan: 

Tokyo-Yokohama, Japan Thanks to YWAM: http://www.urban-ministries.org/Tokyog.htm

Slide16: 

Singapore

Third World Cities: 

Third World Cities Generally third world countries have a city that is much larger than the rest of the cities in the country …called a “primate city” why do they form? colonialism (infrastructure development, especially railroads & ports) post-colonial investment by outsiders political and economic instability related directly or indirectly to external manipulation population pressure related to external involvement Massive influx of people to the primate city leads to squatter settlements and grossly inadequate services

Mexico City: 

Mexico City

Poor Children in Calcutta: 

Poor Children in Calcutta http://students.seattleu.edu/clubs/calcutta/images/Indians/075.jpg

Favelas (Latin American squatter settlements): 

Favelas (Latin American squatter settlements)

Dimensions of the problem: 

Dimensions of the problem 31% of the world population now lives in areas classified as “slums” by the UN In the least developed countries (most of sub-saharan Africa plus various Asian countries such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh) 78% of the population lives in slums

Slide22: 

Lagos Nairobi thanks to: www.yourdotcomforafrica.com http://www.marekinc.com/PhotosHeadllines2002.html Some 400 to 600 million people on the planet (more than the population of the US) are squatters, i.e. no legal claim to the land they live on

Rickshaw Drivers, Delhi: 

Rickshaw Drivers, Delhi http://www.madspedersen.com/exhibition.php?function=largearchive&photoid=654 Workers in the “informal sector”

Slide24: 

“There is a whole infrastructure of low-wage, non-professional jobs and activities that constitutes a crucial part of the so-called corporate economy.” “Many of the devalued sectors of the urban economy actually fulfill crucial functions for the center, …” Saskia Sassen, p.211

Who works in the “informal sector”?: 

Who works in the “informal sector”? Cleaners Tradespersons Cooks & dishwashers Tailors & seamstresses Manual assembly Construction workers Many other jobs All unregistered, off the books, untaxed, and often staffed with illegal immigrants

How important is the informal sector?: 

How important is the informal sector? New York City sweatshops in 1981: 3000 Sweatshop workers: some 50,000 Homeworkers in garment industry: perhaps 10,000 Saskia Sassen, “New York City’s Informal Economy,” paper presented at the Conference on Comparative Ethnicity, Los Angeles, 1988.

Declining Industrial Cities: 

Declining Industrial Cities cities that grew and matured early in the industrial era (1840s-1920s) some have declined and restructured, others are still in decline most have landscapes marked with the relics of industry: abandoned canals, empty warehouses, collapsing factory buildings, heaps of toxic waste, collapsing underground tanks, etc.

Slide28: 

Nostalgic … … or haunted?

Slide29: 

Thanks to Tim Edensor: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/te1/index.php

Slide30: 

Thanks to Tim Edensor: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/te1/index.php

Slide31: 

Thanks to Tim Edensor: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/te1/index.php

Slide32: 

Thanks to Tim Edensor: http://www.staffs.ac.uk/schools/humanities_and_soc_sciences/te1/index.php

Slide33: 

The Fabulous Ruins of Detroit: http://detroityes.com/industry/28pacpan.htm “…peripheralization processes are occurring inside areas that were once conceived of as ‘core’ areas—whether at the global, regional, or urban level—and … alongside the sharpening of peripheralization processes, centrality has also become sharper at all three levels.” Saskia Sassen, p.210

New Industrial Districts: 

New Industrial Districts Not primarily associated with cities may be limited to a particular district of a city may lie outside the municipal jurisdiction of a city, or at the boundary of several jurisdictions may include several cities Activity centers around complexes of office buildings and retail spaces generally close to one or more freeways strict separation of housing and other landuses

Silicon Valley & Route 128: 

Silicon Valley & Route 128 Both looked equally promising in the 1970s Overseas competition in 1980s & after Silicon Valley proved to have greater staying power SV now generates over twice as much revenue as Rt 128 Why? Dense social networks Open labor markets Experimentation & entrepreneurship Regional production complex vs autonomous firms Anti-hierarchical and de-centralized firms Tolerance of spin-offs & returning former employees

What went wrong with Rt. 128?: 

What went wrong with Rt. 128? Conservative corporate mindset Secrecy & security Lack of shared knowledge Lack of standards Family-based social world Vertically-integrated companies Source: Annalee Saxenian

“Cyberabad” (Hyderabad India): 

“Cyberabad” (Hyderabad India) Thanks to: http://7wondersofhyderabad.com/photogallery.html Hyderabad has facilities of IBM, Dell, Microsoft, General Electric and Oracle, & over 200 other software companies

Andhra Pradesh: (Indian state where Hyderabad is located): 

Andhra Pradesh: (Indian state where Hyderabad is located) Average household income $600 Percent of households with electricity 50% Literacy 50% Percent of population that has at least a high school education 8% Annual number of university graduates in science & engineering: 100,000! A polarized labor force Data Source: Kyle Eischen, San Jose Mercury News, March 19, 2000

Cities in Socialist Countries: 

Cities in Socialist Countries Just emerging from centralized government management that inhibited urban growth Picture varied; prospects not clear Beijing: http://www.beijinghighlights.com/photos/gallery.htm

New International Division of Labor: 

New International Division of Labor During “industrial era” leading countries engaged in industry using materials from poor regions During “post-industrial era” leading countries have specialized in services and finance Poor countries now provide raw materials and industrial labor that benefit consumers in wealthy countries Each of the three main world cities is associated with an economic hinterland, though their ties are global

Why is Industry Growing in Poor Countries?: 

Why is Industry Growing in Poor Countries? wages are lower unions are weak or non-existent standards for workplace safety and workers’ rights are lower pollution controls are weaker and environmentalism is less developed transportation and communication have become relatively cheap (so the benefits of off-shore production outweigh the costs) So corporations based in rich countries seek out untapped resources and labor pools in poor countries

What sets this picture in motion?: 

What sets this picture in motion? economic cycles

Economic Restructuring: 

Economic Restructuring Over time, the basis of a region’s economy undergoes transformation agriculture → industry industry → services Such changes occur in cycles or waves Locally, the type of jobs in the job market changes This also reflects changes in distant job markets and growing interdependence

Slide46: 

SOURCE: Paul Knox, Urbanization (Prentice Hall, 1994), p.9.

Why is the dependency of rich countries on poor countries hard to perceive? : 

Why is the dependency of rich countries on poor countries hard to perceive? Third World cities are not simply “behind” First World cities Looking beyond our borders appears to be looking back in time; in fact, everything that happens now is interrelated somehow Structural inequality is masked by the giving of aid and the politics of foreign intervention Our pity or scorn may provide a means of disassociating ourselves from the system that benefits us

CONCLUSION: 

CONCLUSION The global capitalist system has created “uneven” urban development The differences between cities reflect an international division of labor in which corporate management locates production and extraction far away from markets in order to maximize profits