ABSTRACT

An issue that is often raised is indeed the impact of population size for the competitiveness of any city. A city’s competitiveness is very much dependent on its ability to make adjustments to its economy and to be proactive in these efforts by establishing and implementing comprehensive development plans. The Long Island City site had to be reconsidered due to protests from residents regarding the impacts the HQ would have on, among other things, the local housing market. In the contemporary economy, a feature that modifies this conclusion is the fact that individual goods and services change in their capacity to give satisfaction, or pleasure, more dramatically than has ever been the case. The issue of city size is also of interest because many nations in the developing world celebrate the fact that their large cities are growing both rapidly and to great population size – “bigger is better”.