An Emerging Global City Region?

The ongoing processes of globalization have had significant implications for the functional and territorial organization and reorganization of human activities in different world regions. While the flexible movement of capital and manufacturing activities on a global scale continues to prevail, a distinct process of regional economic integration has been under way not only in Europe and North America but also in the Asia Pacific. The formation of continental trade blocs on both sides of the Atlantic and the emergence of “global city regions” have been well documented in the West. ¹ What has received less attention than it deserves is the fact that many Asian countries on the Pacific shore have been undergoing fundamental readjustment in response to the recent economic downturn and financial instability. ² A system of regional cooperation is taking shape to meet the challenges of intensified international competition in the new era of “volatile globalization.” ³