s Shanghai a global city?

Articles:

Can Shanghai compete as a global city? 2002 http://chreod.com/publications/20052222_40527Shanghai%20_CBR_Sept%20Oct02.pdf

Saskia Sassen (2006) http://www.japanfocus.org/products/details/1843

Is Shanghai really a Global City? Lin Ye(2003) http://www.uic.edu/cuppa/cityfutures/papers/webpapers/cityfuturespapers/session5_6/5_6shanghai.pdf

Definition:

World cities (Friedmann1986: establishes the world-city model as the main thesis to link urbanisation to global economic forces which explains the spatial organisation of the New international division of labour.

“Mega-cities” Castells 200 represent a new spatial form of the world economy where dominant centrers of population act as magnets for their hinterlands and are a gravitational power towards major regions of the world.

Global cities Sassen 2000 are defined as strategic sites for the management of the global economy and the production of the most advanced services and financial operations. Global cities have advanced technology, infrastructure and human resources that are vital to attract global capital. Sassen (2000) defines producer services as 'services for firms' including “financial, legal,and general management matters; innovation; development; design; administration; personal; production technology; maintenances; transport; communications; wholesale distribution; advertising; cleaning services for firms; security and storage”. Requirement of specialized agglomeration economies, advanced technology infrastuctures and high innovative environments.

“Primate cities (Savitch 1996) are described as cities that not only hold financial houses and corporate headquarters but also are balanced by textile manufacture, light industry, chemical production and warehousing. These are giant entities whose agglomerations are at least twice as large as the next largest city in the nation.

A global city and world city, or world-class city, is a concept introduced by a group of academics including the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC), based primarily at Loughborough University. The concept includes the postulation that some cities have a direct and tangible effect on global affairs through socioeconomic, cultural, and/or political means, whilst others do not. This leads to the need to develop rules to categorise cities as global or non-global, and to sub-categorise global cities in various ways.

In recent years, the term has become increasingly familiar, because of the rise of globalization (i.e., global finance, communications, and travel). The term "global city", as opposed to megacity, was first coined by Saskia Sassen in a seminal 1991 work.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_city

http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/citymap.html

GaWC Inventory of World Cities (1999 Edition)

An attempt to define and categorise world cities was made in 1999 by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC), based primarily at Loughborough University in Loughborough, Leicestershire, England. The roster was outlined in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5[2] and ranked cities based on provision of "advanced producer services" such as accountancy, advertising, finance and law, by international corporations. The GaWC inventory identifies three levels of world cities and several sub-ranks.

Note that this roster generally denotes cities in which there are offices of certain multinational companies providing financial and consulting services rather than other cultural, political, and economic centres. There is a schematic map of GaWC cities at their website.[3]

Alpha world cities (full service world cities)

• 12 points: London, New York, Paris, Tokyo

• 10 points: Chicago, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Milan, Singapore

Beta world cities (major world cities)

• 9 points: San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto, Zürich

• 8 points: Brussels, Madrid, Mexico City, São Paulo

• 7 points: Moscow, Seoul

Gamma world cities (minor world cities)

• 6 points: Amsterdam, Boston, Caracas, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Geneva, Houston, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Melbourne, Osaka, Prague, Santiago, Taipei, Washington

• 5 points: Bangkok, Beijing, Montreal, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw

• 4 points: Atlanta, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Copenhagen, Hamburg, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Miami, Minneapolis, Munich, Shanghai

General characteristics

It has been argued that global cities are those sharing the following characteristics:

• International, first-name familiarity; whereby a city is recognised without the need for a political subdivision. For example. although there are numerous cities and other political entities with the name Paris or variations on it, one would say "Paris", not "Paris, France".

• Active influence and participation in international events and world affairs; for example, New York City is home to the United Nations headquarters complex and consequently contains a vast majority of the permanent missions to the UN[1].

• A fairly large population (the centre of a metropolitan area with a population of at least one million, typically several million).

• A major international airport (for example, London Heathrow Airport) that serves as an established hub for several international airlines.

• An advanced transportation system that includes several freeways and/or a large mass transit network offering multiple modes of transportation (rapid transit, light rail, regional rail, ferry, or bus).

• In the West, several international cultures and communities (such as a Chinatown, a Little Italy, or other immigrant communities). In other parts of the world, cities which attract large foreign businesses and related expatriate communities; for example, Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Moscow.

• International financial institutions, law firms, corporate headquarters (especially conglomerates), and stock exchanges (for example the London Stock Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange or the Tokyo Stock Exchange) that have influence over the world economy.

• An advanced communications infrastructure on which modern trans-national corporations rely, such as fiberoptics, Wi-Fi networks, cellular phone services, and other high-speed lines of communications.

• World-renowned cultural institutions, such as museums and universities.

• A lively cultural scene, including film festivals (for example the Toronto International Film Festival), premieres, a thriving music or theatre scene (for example, West End theatre and Broadway); an orchestra, an opera company, art galleries, and street performers.

• Several powerful and influential media outlets with an international reach, such as the BBC, Associated Press, Reuters, The New York Times, The Times, or Agence France-Presse.

• A strong sporting community, including major sports facilities, home teams in major league sports, and the ability and historical experience to host international sporting events such as the Olympic Games, Football World Cup, or Grand Slam tennis events.

To some, London, New York City, Paris, and Tokyo have been traditionally considered the 'big four' world cities – not coincidentally, they also serve as symbols of global capitalism. However, many people have their own personal lists, and any two lists are likely to differ based on cultural background, values, and experience.

In certain countries, the rise of suburbia and the ongoing migration of manufacturing jobs to these countries has led to significant urban decay. Therefore, to boost urban regeneration, tourism, and revenue, the goal of building a "world-class" city has recently become an obsession with the governments of some mid-size cities and their constituents.

Information

In 2002 Shanghai won the bid to host the 2010 World exposition.

In 2007 Shanghai will host the 2007 Summer Olympics.

With a population of over 16 million (of which 3.8 million are migrants who have resided more than 6 months) Shanghai is the biggest city in China and the second-largest metropolis in East Asia after Tokyo.

The real market area of Shanghai extends beyond its administrative boundary. Within one-day drive is a regional market of more than 100 million people making it the largest in East Asia (twice that of Tokyo).

Part of an industrializing and urbanizing corridor from Ningbo to Shanghai through Suzhou to Nanjing 250 km long but less than 50 km wide which constitutes China's largest megalopolis.

By 2015 when the National Trunk Highway System is complete shanghai will have access to a coastal and central China market of just over 600 million consumers within a two-day drive by truck. This region will by then contribute 60 % of China's GDP and home 80% of its enterprises.

Shanghai is the only Chinese city to have two international airports (Pudong and Hongqiao). In 2002 the accumulative cargo of the two airports were ranked top 20 in the world, with top 35 passenger volume and top 75 movements between the world largest airports.

In 2002 Shanghai, China's largest port, was ranked 23^rd in the world in terms of port calls; 4^th in total tonnage and 5^th in container traffic.

Shanghai is an ocean port for the Yanqzi River Basin stretching to Yunnan. With the completion of the Three Gorges Dam 10.000-ton ships will be able to reach inland as far as Chongqing.

By 2015 Shanghai will have constructed a new deepwater container port on Yangshan island with 50 berths (Hong Kong the world's largest container port has 18 berths). It will be connected to mainland by a 30km 8-lane bridge.

In 2001 the employment in the tertiary sector of Shanghai was 45.6% of the total (160% higher than the national average). Tertiary services accounted for 32% of city's GDP in 2000.

In 2003 there were 3.500 financial institutions in Shanghai, including over 50 venture capital firms. It has 46% of the oversea's law firms in China. It has 27 global firm offices and is therefore ranked 45^th of the 55 global cities.

In 2003 there were 45 colleges and universities and 34 research academies. It has formal academic exchanges with more than 400 universities in 30 countries.

In 2000 11.4% of the city's population had a college-equivalent education.

Shanghai public officials have become national political leaders.

Many large and old industrial plants have relocated to outlying cites and towns in the Yangzi delta. Freeing up inner city land for residential and commercial redevelopment.

Medium value added industrialization has transformed suburban towns into important extensions of the city within the Outer Ring Road leading to the evolution of a poly-nucleated structure similar to Tokyo and New York.

High value-added manufacturing shows signs of economic and spatial clustering. Micro-electronics are concentrated in Zhangjiang High-Tech Park in Pudong New Area; Automotive firms are clustered in Anting area. Large scale chemical production are centered in Shihua Town on Hangzhou Bay.

By 2010 30% of city's GDP could be in quaternary services and 28% in tertiary. The contribution of high value-added manufacturing could be 20%, that of low value-added may disappear.