ABSTRACT
Urbanization is a ubiquitous correlate of globalization. Regardless of where we look, large urban areas are concentrating people, wealth and power. As with virtually every other dimension of social life in the emerging global system, urban space is also suffering from extreme polarization. In this book we argue that a subset of “global cities” have emerged, with key functions in the system. Yet, as is clear from the other chapters, these global regions are far from homogeneous, reflecting the varying positions of their countries and these regions in the global hierarchy, and the local strategies of development from which they have emerged. In their variety, however, there are certain underlying processes, guided by the global economy, that are defining the possibilities and directions for change.
