ABSTRACT
There is much discussion concerning the extent to which global economic forces influence the ways cities manage their economies and govern their communities. On the one hand, those who emphasise the weight of the global economy argue that global economic forces are the source of urban dynamics, which in tum have lead to a decline in state power and significance (Ohmae, 1995; Appadurai, 1996). Technological advances of the telecommunication networks which accelerate circulation of capital, information, people, and images (Caste lis, 1991) help to diminish the importance of place. In addition, the penetration of global forces at lower spatial scales, such as the city and the state is a powerful manifestation of the ruling global economy (Fainstein, Gordonand Harloe, 1992; Sassen 1991 ). Taken as a whole, this reading suggests although nation the state and urban government can mediate global influence in some cases, global economic forces dominate their urban life in general (Beauregard, 1995).
