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1、TheGLOBALCITY:NEWYORKzLONDON,TOKYOBySaskiaSassenPage19OverviewForcenturies,theworldeconomyhasshapedthelifeofcities.Thisbookisaboutthatrelationshiptoday.Beginninginthe1960sztheorganizationofeconomicactivityenteredaperiodofpronouncedtransformation.Thechangeswereexpressedinthealteredstructureoftheworld
2、economy,andalsoassumedformsspecifictoparticularplaces.Certainofthesechangesarebynowfamiliar:thedismantlingofonce-powerfulindustrialcentersintheUnitedStates,theUnitedKingdom,andmorerecentlyinJapan;theacceleratedindustrializationofseveralThirdWorldcountries;therapidinternationalizationofthefinancialin
3、dustryintoaworldwidenetworkoftransactions.Eachofthesechangesalteredtherelationofcitiestotheinternationaleconomy.InthedecadesafterWorldWar11,therewasaninternationalregimebasedonUnitedStatesdominanceintheworldeconomyandtherulesforglobaltradecontainedinthe1945BrettonWoodsagreement.Bytheearly1970s,theco
4、nditionssupportingthatregimeweredisintegrating.Thebreakdowncreatedavoidintowhichstepped,perhapsinalastburstofnationaldominance,thelargeU.S.transnationalindustrialfirmsandbanks.Inthisperiodoftransition,themanagementoftheinternationaleconomicorderwastoaninordinateextentrunfromtheheadquartersofthesefir
5、ms.Bytheearly1980szhowever,thelargeU.S.transnationalfirmsexperiencedsharpmarketsharelossesfromforeigncompetition.Yettheinternationaleconomydidnotsimplybreakintofragments.Thegeographyandcompositionoftheglobaleconomychangedsoastoproduceacomplexduality:aspatiallydispersed,yetgloballyintegratedorganizat
6、ionofeconomicactivity.Thepointofdepartureforthepresentstudyisthatthecombinationofspatialdispersalandglobalintergrationhascreatedanewstrategicroleformajorcities.Beyondtheirlonghistoryascentersforinternationaltradeandbanking,thesecitiesnowfunctioninfournewways:first,ashighlyconcentratedcommandpointsin
7、theorganizationoftheworldeconomy;second,askeylocationsforfinaceandforspecializedservicefirms,whichhavereplacedmanufacturingastheleadingeconomicsectors;third,assitesofproduction,includingtheproductionofinnovations,intheseleadingindustries;andfourth,asmarketsfortheproductsandinnovationsproducedandP4in
8、novationsproduced.Thesechangesinthefunctioningofcitieshavehadamassiveimpactuponbothinternationaleconomicactivityandurbanform:Citiesconcentratecontrolovervastresources,whilefinanceandspecializedserviceindustrieshaverestructuredtheurbansocialandeconomicorder.Thusanewtypeofcityhasappeared.itistheglobal
9、Cityr-LeadingexamplesnowareNewYork,London,andTokyo.Thesethreecitiesarethefocusofthisbook.AsIshallshow,thesethreecitieshaveundergonemassiveandparallelchangesintheireconomicbase,spatialorganization,andsocialstructure.Butthisparalleldevelopmentisapuzzle.Howcouldcitieswithasdiverseahistory,culture,polit
10、ics,andeconomyasNewYork,London,andTokyoexperiencesimilartransformationsconcentratedinsobriefaperiodoftime?Notexaminedatlengthinmystudy,butimportanttoitstheoreticalframework,ishowtransformationsincitiesrangingfromParistoFrankfurttoHongKongandSaoPaulohaverespondedtothesamedynamic.Tounderstandthepuzzle
11、ofparallelchangeindiversecitiesrequiresnotsimplyapoint-by-pointcomparisonofNewYork,London,andTokyo,butasituatingofthesecitiesinasetofglobalprocesses.Inordertounderstandwhymajorcitieswithdifferentcultureshaveundergoneparalleleconomicandsocialchanges,weneedtoexaminetransformationsintheworldeconomy.Yet
12、thetermglobalcitymaybereductiveandmisleadingifitsuggeststhatcitiesaremereoutcomesofaglobaleconomicmachine.Theyarespecificplaceswhosespaces,internaldynamics,andsocialstructurematter;indeed,wemaybeabletounderstandtheglobalorderonlybyanalyzingwhykeystructuresoftheworldeconomyarenecessacilysituatedincit
13、ies.Howdoesthepositionofthesecitiesintheworldeconomytodaydifferfromthatwhichtheyhavehistoricallyheldascentersofbankingandtrade?WhenMaxWeberanalyzedthemedievalcitieswoventogetherintheHanseaticLeague,heconceivedtheirtradeastheexchangeofsurplusproduction;Itwashisviewthatamedievalcitycouldwithdrawfromex
14、ternaltradeandcontinuetosupportitsetalbeitonareducedscale.ThemodernmoleculeofglobalcitiesisnothinglikethetradeamongselfsufficientplacesintheHanseaticLeague,asWeberunderstoodit.Thefirstthesisadvancedinthisbookisthattheterritorialdispersalofcurrenteconomicactivitycreatesaneedforexpandedcentralcontrola
15、ndmagement.Inotherwords,whileinprincipletheterritorialdecentralizationofeconomicactivityinrecentyearscouldhavebeenaccompaniedbyacorrespondingdecentralizationinownershipandhenceintheappropriationofprofits,therehasbeenlittlemovementinthatdirection.Thoughlargefirmshaveincreasedtheirsubcontractingtosmal
16、lerfirms,andmanynationalfirmsinthenewlyindustrializingcountrieshavegrownrapidly,thisformofgrowthisultimatelypartofachain.EvenP5industrialhomeworkersInremoteruralareasarenowpartofthatchain.Thetransnationalcorporationscontinuetocontrolmuchoftheendproductandareaptheprofitsassociatedwithsellingintheworldmarket.Theinternationalizationandexpansionofthefinancialindustryhasbroughtgrowthtoalargenumberofsmallerfinancialmarkets,agrowthwhichhasfedtheexpansionoftheglobalindustry.Buttop-leve
