global city definition ap human geography

World cities are job magnets for the services sector. Though they are not centers for primary sector activities-agriculture and natural resource extraction-primary sector resources flow to and through them to be processed and shipped. World cities dominate industry, trade, and port activity. World cities are dominant cities in their states and local regions, at the country scale, across continents, and for the entire globe. Many other types of influence are derived from their financial power. Across the Thames is the City of London (not to be confused with Greater London), otherwise known as the Square Mile, and the second most important global financial center after New York World Cities by Economic Sector Some ranking systems list hundreds of world cities overall, broken into three or more different ranking levels.įig. Below that are many second-tier world cities. They are also known as global cities and are major drivers of globalization.įirst-tier world cities are those few dozen world cities with the highest levels of importance in the global economy and associated functions such as culture and government.

That is to say, they are places with many important functions in the global flow of capital. World cities are urban areas that function as major nodes in the world economy.

And if it seems like these are the cities people are always talking about, well, there is a good reason for that. At the very top of the world economy are the world cities-global centers of fashion, industry, banking, and the arts. The most important cities are the most connected urban centers in this interconnected planetary hive of goods and services we call the world economy. You've heard the expression 'everything is connected,' right? Well, when it comes to cities, the more connected you are, the more important you are.

Global city definition ap human geography