ABSTRACT
In parallel with Gottmann’s (1989:62) observation that ‘[d]ependence on a network has become the general rule for the majority of substantial cities anywhere’, it has become commonplace to describe the global urban system as a hallmark example of a global network (see, for instance, Castells 1996:415). However, although most seminal theoretical contributions thus consider worldwide inter-city relations to be of crucial importance, it can be noted that this notion of a ‘world city network’ (WCN) has rarely been accompanied by genuine empirical network analyses (notable exceptions include Smith and Timberlake 2001, 2002; Alderson and Beckfield 2004; Derudder and Taylor 2005). The main reason for this dearth of empirical network analyses is simply the paucity of data detailing with intercity flows at the global level (Smith and Timberlake 1995a,b; Taylor 1997, 1999). There have recently been some attempts to rectify this situation, but the major exception to this empirical conundrum has been the compilation of information on communication networks in general and air transport in particular (see, for instance, Cattan 1995; Keeling 1995; Kunzmann 1998; Rimmer 1998; Smith and Timberlake 2001, 2002, 2005; Matsumoto 2004).
