ABSTRACT

The ‘global cities’ that have captured attention in recent years owe much to intense competition in international financial services. Partly a matter of providing world-class commercial facilities, and partly a matter of image-creation, the effort to attract geographically mobile investment activity changes a city’s perspective. The old, diversified urban centre is cleaned up for new offices and cultural consumption; in the process, it becomes more expensive. Not surprisingly, governmental priorities shift from public goods to private development