# Global Cities



## shree711 (Dec 12, 2011)

London's taxis are amazing. Expensive as **** though. I would have voted Hong Kong second. I did not even find the NYC cabs to be comfortable and yes, they do not seem to know jack **** about where they are supposed to be going. They only thing they seem to have got right there are the street numbers and names. BTW, it also says that NYC cabs are the most easily available. This is only the case within Manhattan. If you go to Queens or Brooklyn, they are actually quite hard to find. But NYC cabs do look attractive. Looks are not everything though. London's still look classier anyway.

I agree with the tie between Tokyo and Hong Kong. They use the same model for their taxis although it is a bit odd how in Tokyo, a large number of streets do not seem to have names.


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## LondonFox (Nov 4, 2010)

shree711 said:


> London's taxis are amazing. Expensive as **** though. I would have voted Hong Kong second. I did not even find the NYC cabs to be comfortable and yes, they do not seem to know jack **** about where they are supposed to be going. They only thing they seem to have got right there are the street numbers and names. BTW, it also says that NYC cabs are the most easily available. This is only the case within Manhattan. If you go to Queens or Brooklyn, they are actually quite hard to find. But NYC cabs do look attractive. Looks are not everything though. London's still look classier anyway.
> 
> I agree with the tie between Tokyo and Hong Kong. They use the same model for their taxis although it is a bit odd how in Tokyo, a large number of streets do not seem to have names.




You should go for a ride on the special edition London cabs dubbed "Karma Kabs" they are decorated from the 60's for a bit extra cost, you could arrive at The Savoy in this 

http://taxistorys.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/karma-kab.html


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## shree711 (Dec 12, 2011)

LondonFox said:


> You should go for a ride on the special edition London cabs dubbed "Karma Kabs" they are decorated from the 60's for a bit extra cost, you could arrive at The Savoy in this
> 
> http://taxistorys.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/karma-kab.html


Yuck.


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## LondonFox (Nov 4, 2010)

Massively popular.. they have incense burners in them and everything.


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## -Corey- (Jul 8, 2005)

Boston, Chicago, DC, SF ahead of Los Angeles? :crazy:


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## SO143 (Feb 11, 2011)

hong kong is incredibly underrated here :rant:


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

In EUrope Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome are the important geopolitical centers.

London has not a relevant position on its own continent. How can the UK-made GAWC list claim London to be on top the world ?

I tell you how that happens, its a selfpropelling propaganda of Britain based institutes.

Remember the British media putting the English Team on top of Football World Cup favorites, while always loosing in the quarterfinals ?


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## Jamsterx (Jan 31, 2012)

Dr_Cosmo said:


> In EUrope Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome are the important geopolitical centers.
> 
> London has not a relevant position on its own continent. How can the UK-made GAWC list claim London to be on top the world ?
> 
> ...


I guess you could argue that point however, I found that a New York based poll put New York on the top of its list as well (what a surprise). It's not just London that does this, but in my opinion, London is the most iconic, if not the most influential city in the world.


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## roe5745 (May 24, 2010)

Dr_Cosmo said:


> In EUrope Paris, Berlin, Brussels and Rome are the important geopolitical centers.
> 
> London has not a relevant position on its own continent. How can the UK-made GAWC list claim London to be on top the world ?
> 
> ...


Being a Global City is not just about politics! :bash:
There are also other factors such as Cultural, Financial and Infrastructure. London is internationally recognisable city, could you say the same about Brussels?

Here is a Japanese ranking system which still places London at 2nd place

http://www.mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/research/project/6/pdf/GPCI2011_English.pdf


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## Sarcasticity (May 21, 2005)

Safe to say NY and London are the top 2 while the rest wrestle for the next spots


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

SO143 said:


> london is still no.1 in the world :baaa:


London certainly is a financial services powerhouse, but they do seem to vigorously defend the assertion that they're #1 no matter what happens in their industry. Over the years, these London based studies have lost most of their credibility. 

Besides, this isn't a financial services rank. Global city entails a hell of a lot more than the prevalence of one industry. Here's how a different study can reveal very different results. This is the 'Cities of Opportunity' List done by PriceWaterhouseCoopers using the broadest set of criteria I've seen in any global cities study. I've listed the criteria they used followed by PWC's conclusions as well as a link to the study.


Air pollution
Aircraft movements
Airport to CBD access
Attracting FDI: Capital investment
Attracting FDI: Number of greenfield projects
Broadband quality score
Business trip index
City carbon footprint
Classroom size
Commute time
Cost of business occupancy
Cost of living
Cost of public transport
Crime
Cultural vibrancy
Digital economy score
Domestic market capitalization
Ease of entry: Number of countries with visa waiver
Ease of firing
Ease of hiring
Ease of starting a business
End of life care
Entrepreneurial environment
Financial and business services employment
Flexibility of visa travel
Foreign embassies or consulates
Green space as a percent of city area
Health system performance
Hospitals
Hotel rooms
Housing
Incoming/outgoing passenger flows
Inflation
Intellectual property protection
Internet access in schools
International tourists
Level of shareholder protection
Libraries with public access
Licensed taxis
Life satisfaction
Literacy and enrollment
Mass transit coverage
Math/Science skills attainment
Miles of mass transit track
Natural disaster risk
Number of Global 500 headquarters
Operational risk climate
Percent of gross domestic expenditure on R&D
Percent of population with higher education
Political environment
Purchasing power
Quality of living
Recycled waste
Renewable energy consumption
Research performance of top universities
Rigidity of hours
Skyline impact
Skyscraper construction activity
Software and multi-media development and design
Sport and leisure activities
Strength of currency (SDRs per currency unit)
Thermal comfort
Total tax rate
Traffic congestion
Workforce management risk
Working age population


*World Cities Rank - PriceWaterhouseCoopers*

01. New York	1227
02. Toronto	1196
03. San Francisco	1172
04. Stockholm	1147
05. Sydney	1127

06. London	1123
07. Chicago	1121
08. Paris	1117
09. Singapore	1068
10. Hong Kong	1062

11. Houston	1051
12. Los Angeles	1044
13. Berlin	1017
14. Tokyo	1014
15. Madrid	968

16. Seoul	883
17. Beijing	730
18. Abu Dhabi	706
19. Shanghai	698
20. Mexico City	693

21. Santiago	658
22. Mumbai	647
23. Istanbul	598
24. Sao Paulo	595
25. Johannesburg	593
26. Moscow	492


http://www.pwc.com/us/en/cities-of-opportunity (Click on 'Model Your City')


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

Jamsterx said:


> but in my opinion


:lol:

The capital of this midsize country is not even the most iconic city in Europe....


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## Jamsterx (Jan 31, 2012)

Dr_Cosmo said:


> :lol:
> 
> The capital of this midsize country is not even the most iconic city in Europe....


I respect that opinion...but it's still an opinion. No one can really find out which city has the greatest reputation unless they implemented a credible study in terms of correlation data


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## Baboulinet (Nov 3, 2008)

roe5745 said:


> .Being a Global City is not just about politics!
> There are also other factors such as Cultural, Financial and Infrastructure. London is internationally recognisable city, could you say the same about Brussels?
> 
> Here is a Japanese ranking system which still places London at 2nd place
> ...


But you can see that the gap between London and Paris is really small 
And, OMG, where is Hong Kong ? :lol:


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## Jamsterx (Jan 31, 2012)

Baboulinet said:


> But you can see that the gap between London and Paris is really small
> And, OMG, where is Hong Kong ? :lol:


I could see that. The gap between London and New York on the poll in this forum is even smaller, plus this was a poll that only members of the forum could vote on, so it's based on opinions...again. :dj:


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## ukiyo (Aug 5, 2008)

This thread should be locked...and people really need to stop citing the GAWC, it's so bad that it doesn't even need to be said.


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

*The GAWC ranking is the most misleading city ranking while at the same time claiming to indicate a "global" identity/influence of a metroarea.*


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## LondonFox (Nov 4, 2010)

Dr Cosmo... What are you smoking? Are you from Berlin? I have been there before, it was a nice enough place.. and that is that! But seriously, no one gives two hoots about the place in the real world... it's what... most people's 7th or 8th choice destination for visiting in Europe if even that high.. Christ even Frankfurt probably has more influence then Berlin in Europe being the home of so many Euro land institutions... 

In terms of city wealth, politics, fashion, business, finance, music, art, tourism, museums, stuff to do, and pretty much most things... London eclipses Berlin .. Sorry to break it to you. 

But, you are more than welcome to continue to think otherwise. 

Peace.


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## term2000 (Mar 22, 2012)

Number of Fortune Global 500 companies (the 500 largest companies in the world)

Paris: 38
London: 17

Yeah....of course London is more important in economy :lol:

Just because they have more banks doesn't mean anything...in the real economy, of companies that actually produce goods, Paris is way more important, an industrial center much larger than London.

And fot that Chinese guy who thinks that Hong Kong is the center of the world....let me tell you your city only has 4 companies in the ranking, so please let the big dogs to fight this challenge.


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

term2000 said:


> Paris: 38
> London: 17


Yep, case closed.

Its a typical psychological habit of high income people (London banking scene) to overestimate their influence.

And of course, as a Londoner I would always defend a UK-homebased opinion (ranking) putting the capital alongside important cities. Its an archaic, patriotic stance.


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## LondonFox (Nov 4, 2010)

term2000 said:


> Number of Fortune Global 500 companies (the 500 largest companies in the world)
> 
> Paris: 38
> London: 17
> ...



If he's from Hong Kong then he is a Hongkonger not Chinese. Just FYI... It means a lot to people when you address them the right way.

That's all very nice, but the facts are...

London handles 36.7% of global currency transactions — an average daily turnover of US$1.85 trillion — with more US dollars traded in London than New York, and more Euros traded than in every other city in Europe combined.

75 per cent of Fortune 500 companies have offices in London. London has over 480 overseas banks, more than any other city in the world. 

London is one of 3 command centers for the global economy (with New York and Tokyo) and vies with New York City as the most important location for international finance.

In education; London is a major centre of higher education teaching and research and its 43 universities form the largest concentration of higher education in Europe. Many of these are top 10 global institutions.

In science and healthcare; again London is home to Europe's largest institutions.

In fashion, London is a world leader especially in high street fashion where it leads the way, it is also home to some of the worlds greatest stores such as Harrods and Selfridges.

Culture such as art and literacy, music and television... Well no brainers there really.

And London was recently ranked 2nd in the world for business competitiveness and ease of business. Helped by its location as the centre of global time and the English language being the worlds language for business.

London also ranks joint first with New York for attractiveness for foreign investment in its infrastructure retail and housing market...

All of those foreigners can't be wrong if they know where to invest their money  especially since the Euro looks toxic to everyone right now.


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

^^ You can find a study that backs up almost any claim you want. For every claim you're making above, I can find a study that says the opposite. The PriceWaterhouseCoopers study has London ranked 6th overall for World Cities.


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## brisavoine (Mar 19, 2006)

shree711 said:


> Hong kong completely rapes Paris when it comes to finance and economy.


GDP of Hong Kong: $209.3 bn (in 2009)
GDP of Greater Paris: $783.5 bn (in 2009)

There is simply no comparison. Paris has almost 4 times the economy of Hong Kong.


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

LondonFox said:


> especially since the Euro looks toxic to everyone right now.


:lol:

As far as I remember, the euro represents the worlds second largest reserve currency with 30%....

But the stance above proofs how far the islanders in the North Sea made some of the world believe (and foremost themselves) of a grand illusion.

In EUrope Berlin, Paris, Rome matter. In China HK, Bejing and Shanghai matter. In the US NYC, DC, L.A. matter.

I haven´t heard of other command centers yet.


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## Axelferis (Jan 18, 2008)

London is the big city capital of a a country which isn't in the top 5 of biggest economy of the world 

Paris is the capital of a country which belong to the top 5 of most economic powerful countries :cheers:


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## term2000 (Mar 22, 2012)

Axelferis said:


> London is the big city capital of a a country which isn't in the top 5 of biggest economy of the world
> 
> Paris is the capital of a country which belong to the top 5 of most economic powerful countries :cheers:


Actually you're quite right, France is the 5th largest economy in the world...while the UK is the 7th.


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## Dr_Cosmo (Nov 8, 2010)

Axelferis said:


> which belong to the top 5 of most economic powerful countries :cheers:


Even more so.

The Eurozone and all members have become a state-like economy as large as the USA. The EU monetary union is an indespensable heavy weight and motor in the era of globalisation.


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## shree711 (Dec 12, 2011)

brisavoine said:


> GDP of Hong Kong: $209.3 bn (in 2009)
> GDP of Greater Paris: $783.5 bn (in 2009)
> 
> There is simply no comparison. Paris has almost 4 times the economy of Hong Kong.


I should say economic influence.


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## term2000 (Mar 22, 2012)

shree711 said:


> I should say economic influence.


Yes...economic influenc: a larger stock exchange, larger companies, a larger economy, a larger country, more international economic institutions, etc.

Accept it, Hong Kong has nothing to do against a city like Paris.


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## brisavoine (Mar 19, 2006)

HSBC said:


> What is Paris when it comes to finance?


Time to educate yourself I guess.

The financial and insurance sector in Greater Paris produced $58.7 bn worth of GDP in 2009. Source: Eurostat.

For comparison, in 2009 the financial and insurance sector in Hong Kong produced only $31.8 bn worth of GDP. Source: Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department.

So the financial and insurance sector in Paris is nearly 2 times the size of the financial and insurance sector in Hong Kong.

Paris is home to the largest bank in the world (BNP Paribas), the 7th largest bank in the world (Crédit Agricole), and the 19th largest bank (Société Générale). Paris is also home to two of the largest insurance groups in the world: Groupama and AXA (the latter one being the 2nd or 3rd largest insurance company in the world depending on years).

The Paris stock exchange (Euronext Paris) had a market capitalization of $1,550 bn at the end of 2011. That's more than the Frankfurt stock exchange (Deutsche Börse: $1,185 bn), and 70% of the market capitalization of the Hong Kong stock exchange ($2,258 bn).

Last but not least, France is the 2nd or 3rd largest investor in the world (FDIs), depending on years, and Paris is of course home of more than 90% of those French corporations which invest these billions of dollars in the world every year. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has little outward FDIs (Greater Paris is home to thirty-three Fortune 500 companies whereas Hong Kong is home to only four Fortune 500 companies).


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## RobertWalpole (Mar 16, 2010)

Why is Chicago on this list?


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## Sarcasticity (May 21, 2005)

RobertWalpole said:


> Why is Chicago on this list?


'cause it ranked #9 in the same Global competitiveness study that NYC topped


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## shree711 (Dec 12, 2011)

HSBC is more our less a bank from Hong Kong although people like to think its british. Its the biggest bank in the world.


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## SO143 (Feb 11, 2011)

LondonFox said:


> If he's from Hong Kong then he is a Hongkonger not Chinese. Just FYI... It means a lot to people when you address them the right way.
> 
> That's all very nice, but the facts are...
> 
> ...


on top of that 

london is the richest city in europe ( in terms of total city gdp ) 

london is the biggest city in europe ( in terms of total population within city limits and it's metro also contains 14 million people, making it one of the world's mega cities and the biggest city in europe ) 

london is a major international air transport hub with the largest city airspace in the world. Eight airports use the word London in their name and heathrow airport is the world's busiest airport by the number of international passenger traffic.

london has world's top 3 museums out of top 5 and it also has many other great museums, making it a city with most number of museums. (more than paris, rome or new york) 

london has the first supertall in the EU and it is currently the highest tower in the western europe as well. (big achievement for a european city) 

london's bus network is one of the largest in the world, , running 24 hours a day, with 8,000 buses, 700 bus routes, and over 6 million passenger journeys made every weekday. 

london underground is the world's first subway/metro system and also the oldest in the world, it is the world's 2nd largest metro system in the world (after shanghai ) 

london contains 43 universities, making it the largest centre of higher education teaching and research in the whole europe. some of it's universities ranked top 10 globally. the London School of Economics has been described as the world's leading social science institution for both teaching and research. the London Business School is considered one of the world's leading business schools and in 2010 its MBA programme was ranked best in the world by the Financial Times.

london stock exchange is the biggest in europe  with the market capitalization of $3266 billion. 

london has become the first city in the world to host the olympic for 3 times, more than any other city on the planet. London's most popular sport is football and it has fourteen League football clubs, including five in the Premier League: Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Queens Park Rangers and Tottenham Hotspur. wembley stadium was also described as the world's most expensive football stadium in the world. london is also home of tennis 

the o2 arena in london is the world's busiest venue taking the crown from MEN Arena with sales of more than two million. (more than Madison Square Garden in New York (1.23 million).

london is one of the most visited cities in the world. (1st or 2nd, ranking may be different depending on the measurement)

london also produces some of the world's biggest stars, celebrities, singers, actors etc. (no competitor from other countries in europe and asia in this aspect, thanks to the english language) 

london is also home to the world's biggest media centre such as BBC 

london taxi (black cabs) is voted the best in the world, followed by yellow cabs in new york. 

london selfridges named the world's best department store 

london has the world's biggest apple store as well. 

in conclusion, london acts as a very important bridge between north american markets, asian markets and the european markets (God bless the GMT 00:00, london is a place where the time was invented, in other words london is a place which divided the world into two parts such as eastern world and western world) 

to be continued .... 

:nocrook:


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## Cyril (Sep 11, 2002)

This thread is bound to :lock: :yes:


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

Yep, it's turned into people trying to convince the rest of the world (and failing) how great London and Paris are. :soapbox:


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## Taller Better (Aug 27, 2005)

*CLEARLY City vs City. PLEASE do NOT start threads like this.*


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