While no surprise to Chicago boosters, a new study rates Chicago as second most globally connected city, and the only midwestern city in top 10 nationwide.
A new study by Peter J.Taylor and Robert E. Lang, "U.S. Cities in the 'World City Network
" identifies the most globally connected cities
in the nation and why this matters. Among the findings:
New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles are the most globally connected. The
study defines the relative economy of each region as being locally or
internationally driven, important because the greater the global, or "external"
investment, the greater the local economic gains that spins off the
external investment.
In the next tier, Miami is found to be globally connected, especially to
Latin America, and San Francisco, Atlanta, and Washington all show strong
connections.
The study focuses on metropolitan regions: "The rise of transnational
interactions has produced a new economic globalization in which cities and their
regions are the prime nodes."
Much of the study is based on University of Chicago's Saskia Sassen's
research that growth of the service sector, particularly financial services,
drives urban change. "For Sassen, major service cities thus
become 'global cities,' the 'strategic places' of economic
globabalization."
Why does this matter? As the study points out, for a transnational
company to be truly global, it must have connections in world cities, including
places like New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. These become beachheads for
investment, and require local purchases of services.
Is there room to grow? It turns out that most European cities are far
more globally connected than their U.S. counterparts. Nearly half of New
York's economy and over 80 percent of the Chicago economy is oriented toward
the U.S., while virtually all of Brussels, Helsinki and London is oriented
globally, rather than to the European Union.
What are the implications for policymakers?
First, the study points out that "because much of the advanced producer
service industry is located in central business districts, the growth of global
networks could increase the demand for downtown Class A office space. A
larger workforce can subsequently impact a host of related downtown indust
ries, including retail, entertainment, arts, conventions, and perhaps even
housing."
Second, expanding education and employment in critical fields such as law,
advertising, and media help attract a creative workforce to global cities, and
thus more investment in the region.
Finally, a better connected region "may produce a more cosmopolitan view.
Places with business links throughout the world may be less parochial in
attitude and feel than peer cities that are not well-connected."
For a link to the study, go to:
http://www.brookings.edu/metro/pubs/20050222_worldcities.htm