ABSTRACT
The different chapters in this book are based on cross-sectional data gathered in the first half of 2008. But the world city network is a very dynamic urban process, as the finance-led economic crisis of 2008–09 has only too clearly illustrated. Therefore we have added this postscript to our world survey so that the reader may be able to get both a feel for relatively recent change and a glimpse of where the effects of the current economic crisis may be leading. To these ends, we have included two extra elements for interpretation and discussion:
We compare the 2008 general connectivity results with the first world city network data collection in 2000 to show some key trends in city connectivities – which cities are becoming relatively more integrated into the network and which less so (Derudder et al, 2010a).
We present some early analyses of the financial credit crunch and subsequent economic downturn that got underway just after the 2008 data collection. It will obviously be some years before the full effects are recorded in the world city network. However, we can begin to glimpse changes, especially in the financial sector, and we report some preliminary findings on the different fates of control and command centres in finance (Derudder et al, 2010b).
