ABSTRACT
One of the principal ironies of contemporary globalization is that it appears simultaneously to reach all corners of the world and affect its various parts differently. The uneven spatial impact of globalization is manifested in the dominant position and influence of a few global cities like New York, London, and Tokyo (Sassen 2001), the varied repositioning of major cities in the global air travel network (Smith and Timberlake 2001), and the rare rise of previously marginal towns to important international centers like the Chinese city of Shenzhen bordering Hong Kong (Chen 1987, 1993). Moreover, there are cities in the world that lie largely beyond the span of global influence and thus beneath the analytical radar-screen of the global or world city perspective (see Robinson 2002). As we move from spots or dots on the world map where globalization has left the strongest imprint to where its marks are much less visible, perhaps to the point of non-existence, we encounter the important question of why this is so. A more obvious answer would be that some less or hardly globalized cities and places are located in less open economies and in geographically isolated or remote regions, or both. A related explanation would be that these cities have less or unfavorable links to the global economy. A more effective way of tackling this question, however, is to identify the mechanisms that mediate the global-local nexus by either fostering favorable global ties to cities or forestalling such ties. This is key to provide a deeper account for the uneven local impact of globalization, especially for the development of cities that are difficult for globalization to reach.
