I-New York as a world city.

INTRODUCTION
On the American territory, there are 130 metropolitan / urban areas of more than 250 000
inhabitants (30 in GB, approximately 20 in France). The largest nine amount to more than 80
millions, that is between one quarter and one third of the total population, concentrated on less
than 3% of the country’s total territory. This is an extremely dense, uneven distribution. The
largest cities are:
-New York: 7 million inhabitants for the 5 boroughs, 21 millions for the Consolidated
Metropolitan Statistical Area (=aire urbaine)
-Los Angeles: 17 millions
-Chicago: 9 millions

These can be broken into three major metropolitan areas:

-Megalopolis, or Northeast Corridor, sometimes described as “Boswash”: Boston, NYC,
Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington. All united, they represent some 45 million inhabitants.
The urban sprawl connects each city to the next: the built-up area covers an 800 km long
distance with only very few major disruptions. You could virtually drive through this zone
without leaving the built up area.
-The Great Lakes area is more loosely tied as the previous one, but still gathers 20 millions. If
associated to the East Coast, it merges into a vast urban network
-The West Coast, with two prominent cities: Los Angeles and San Francisco

Urbanisation is a major factor of the uneven population distribution in the USA

 New York City is located in
the state of New York
(capital Albany) and
belongs to the Megalopolis
(dubbed BosWah, from
Boston southward to
Washington).

MEGALOPOLIS
-17 percent of the population in the US

-1.5 percent of the land in the US

-High concentrations of wealth and opportunity

-Above-average in management and professional occupations (very high paying)

-46 of the top 200 research universities in the US

 New York City, the core of Megalopolis

“It is an ugly city, a dirty city. Its climate is a scandal. Its politics
are used to frighten children. Its traffic is madness. Its competition
is murderous. But there is one thing about it - one you have lived in
New York and it has become your home, no other place is good
enough”.
John Steinbeck

“When it is good, New York is very, very good. Which is why

New Yorkers put up with so much that is bad.”
Ada Louise Huxtable.
 Global city: a definition
• A global city is a city generally considered to
be an important node in the global economic
system. The concept comes from geography
and urban studies and rests on the idea that
globalization can be understood as largely
created, facilitated, and enacted in strategic
geographic locales according to a hierarchy of
importance to the operation of the global
system of finance and trade.
 How to recognise a global city?
4 criteria

– Economic
• Contribute significant financial capacity/output to the city's, region's, or even nation's GDP
• House the major stock markets
• Provide a variety of international financial services
• Appear near the top of cost of living

– Political
• Active influence on, and participation in, international events and world affairs
• Hosting headquarters for international organizations
• Large city proper
• Quality of life
• Expatriate communities

– Cultural
• Renowned cultural institutions (museums, opera, ballet, orchestra, film festivals)
• Media organizations
• Sporting community
• Educational institutions

– Infrastructural
• Advanced transportation system (highways, mass transit, international airport)
• Advanced communications (fiber optics, internet, Wi-Fi)
• Health facilities
• Prominent skyline
 1) In what ways is New York City a global city?
The term “world cities” was first coined by Patrick Geddes in 1915; he
defined them as places where world’s business was done.
Saskia Sassen (1991)’s The Global City identified them in four ways:

- 1) key locations for finance and specialised service firms, which have
replaced manufacturing as the leading economic services.

- 2) sites of production, including the production of innovations, in

leading industries

- 3) highly concentrated command points in the organisation of the

world economy Home to the headquarters of large banks and stock
markets: NY Stock Exchange (Wall Street).

- 4) markets for the products and innovations produced.

 1.1) What makes NYC so global?
A) The Sheer Numbers
• Most populous city in the U.S. and the center of the NY Combined Statistical Area,
one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world.

• As of 2012, the New York Metropolitan Area's population is the United States'
largest one, with approximately 19.8 million people, and is also part of the most
populous combined statistical area in the United States, containing an estimated
23.4 million people. The New York metropolitan area, also referred to as the Tri-
State Area, is the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban landmass
(11,642 km2): it spreads on portions of New Yok State, Connecticut and New
Jersey.

• With a census-estimated 2012 population of 8,336,697, New York is the most

densely populated major city in the United States.

• 38% of New Yorkers are foreign born.

• As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically
diverse city in the world.
B) Global Influence

• Global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon

commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology,
education, and entertainment.

• The home of the UN Headquarters, New York is an important

center for international diplomacy

• NYC has been described as the cultural capital of the world

C) Worldwide Symbol
• The Skyline of New York City
– First Skyscrapers (Chrysler building, 1930 Empire State building,
1931)

• The statue of Liberty

 Ranking of Top 5 Global Cities
Global world Economy Research and Cultural Quality Environment Accessibility
rank Development reach of Life
budget
1. New York 2 1 3 28 24 3
2. London 4 4 1 15 12 2
3. Paris 7 7 2 1 15 1
4. Tokyo 1 2 5 5 6 4
5. Singapore 5 8 4 25 11 7
Source: Mory Memorial Foundation, 2012

+demonstrated ability to attract capital, businesses, talent and visitors.

+evaluating which cities are considered the most important to the
world’s HNWIs (high-net-worth individuals, having over $25million of
investable assets) in regard to: "economic activity", "political power",
"knowledge and influence" and "quality of life".
 1.2) What is New York’s place in the world?
A very integrated city in globalization

A) Concentration of major economic actors =

decisive factor in global integration of NYC

• 2 largest stock markets in world (NYSE and NASDAQ)

• Supremacy of NYC in global
immaterial flows:

-Internet bandwidth capacity

-Concentration of financial
markets in stock market values
• Concentration of major number of TNCs

• 18 NY companies amongst the 139 TNCs in U.S. (e.g.

American Express, Colgate-Palmolive, Pfizer)

• Major decision makers make NY top-ranking economic

metropolis
 B) NYC enjoys all the advantages to integrating
global network exchanges

• 3 international airports (JFK, LaGuardia, Newark)

La Guardia
International
Airport

Newark
International
Airport
JFK
International
Airport
• Several ports (NY and NJ harbors)
• Integration of Maritime and Railroad Traffic
C) NYC top global ranking for economic power and
research capacities
• Silicon Alley

• Columbia University
-5th for international students in U.S.

• New York University

-3rd for international students in U.S.
International Students in New York City 2008
 2) How is NYC’s world power expressed?

2.1) NYC is the center of economic globalisation

– new technologies & innovation

2.2) NYC = a cultural and political center

– Tourism: Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island,
Greenwich village, Chinatown
– MOMA, the Met, Guggenheim, Times Square, Broadway
– 43% of population in 21st century born abroad
– United Nations Headquarters
2.3) The Central,
international
functions of lower
Manhattan
2.4) NYC = major interface in globalisation
– Atlantic Seaboard: connections to Europe & Asia
3) What are the social and spatial consequences of NY’s
global integration?
Global city marked by social contrasts

NY’s metropolitan territory

• more and more polycentric (5 boroughs + New Jersey – Edge city)
 Five Boroughs of
New York:

1. Manhattan
2. Brooklyn
3. Queens
4. Bronx
5. Staten island
• More and more spread out (commuters, suburbs, megalopolis)

Number of people commuting by car to Central Business Districts

3.1) Manhattan’s Central business District and
Central Park
 Lower Manhattan
Photo taken August 2013

One World Trade Center

a.k.a. the Freedom Tower

Hudson River

East River

Source: The Guardian

Midtown, Manhattan
3.2) A new Central Business District, Brooklyn
Brooklyn: the town next to the city
3.3) Queens
3.4) The Bronx
3.5) Staten Island
 4) Challenges to face: weaknesses of a global city
1. Gentrification

2. Sustainable Development: Environmentally Friendly Policies

3. Wealth Gap

4. Quality of Life

5. Environmental hazards
4.1) Gentrification of neighborhoods

• Gentrification of Crown Heights, Brooklyn

 The Ins and the Outs

• A hypothetical time-lapse video of Franklin Avenue in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, starting in the year 2000: The
block is lined with dollar stores, bodegas and barbershops, a few hair-braiding salons, some humble
restaurants. Many storefronts are shuttered; those open are kept afloat by local patrons, predominately
African-Americans and West Indians. Crime is common in the neighborhood, the sound of gunshots familiar.
• Over time, the scenery begins to change. Tree saplings take root in once-neglected sidewalk beds; foreboding
iron doors morph into friendlier gates. At an increasing rate, young white faces begin to dot the screen, darting
off to work in the morning and dashing back again at night. Boarded-up storefronts transform into fashionable
bars, restaurants, and boutiques. Groups of cops suddenly appear, standing guard on street corners; more new
businesses, and more whites faces follow, and follow.
• This blurred process of change is known to urban dwellers across America, especially to those who move to
Brooklyn, many of whom play a role in the process, tacitly or actively, including the authors of this story. In New
York, few streets have changed quite so quickly or dramatically as Franklin Avenue has in recent years. When
one speaks to those who do business and live, or have lived, in the neighborhood, a tapestry of stories
emerges—some positive, others much less so—that is, at best, remarkably difficult to comprehend.
• Environmentally speaking, that Franklin Avenue gentrified at all should come as no surprise. The entire avenue
runs for about three miles from the Brooklyn Navy Yard to Prospect Lefferts Gardens. The gentrified portion
stretches from St. Marks Avenue to Eastern Parkway, and resonates east toward Nostrand Avenue and west
toward Grand Army Plaza. It is exceedingly pedestrian-friendly, one of the rare strips in New York where there is
more sidewalk than street. Crown Heights itself is rich with a gorgeous brownstone housing stock and lies a
short distance from Prospect Park, one of the most popular outdoor spaces in New York City. It’s also served by
a bevy of subway lines, providing convenient access to and from Manhattan.
• Since 2008, fifty-two new businesses have opened along Franklin Avenue north of Eastern Parkway, with
sixteen of them arriving in 2012, according to the popular neighborhood blog, I Love Franklin Avenue. In the
same span of time, thirty establishments closed, with eleven going last year.
• Today, the avenue bustles with economic and social activity. A strong sense of community reigns, one
comprised of a wealth of residents from different generations and walks of life, which is apparent to anyone
who takes the time to visit, grab a cup of coffee and watch the world go by for a couple minutes.
• Franklin’s new business owners tend to be well-educated, in their thirties or forties, and proud of letting their
personalities speak through their establishments. Many live in the neighborhood.
Source: Narratively, by Vinnie Rotondaro and Maura Ewing, Jan 15, 2013
 • Harlem Gentrification

Photo Story New York Times :

A Harlem Resurgence
4.2) Sustainable Development in NYC
 Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030
• Bloomberg’s air quality and energy goals relied heavily on nuclear
power and natural gas.

• Pushed to ban fracking in the city’s watershed while supporting the

expansion of pipelines that would bring gas into the city from
fracked shale in Pennsylvania

• Contradicts the water quality part of the plan, which identifies

fracking as a threat to the city’s watershed in the Catskill region.
 Sustainable development programs

• Reducing CO2 emissions: Nearly 80% of citywide emissions are

attributed to buildings’ energy use.

• Many new sustainable technologies that help offset these

emissions, increase a building’s efficiency, decrease energy
dependence
 Emissions of Fine Particles in Air
in tons per square mile

30

25

20 New York
Philadelphia
15
Houston
Chicago
10
Dallas
5

0
Catégorie 2
4.3) NYC Wealth Gap
• Homeless: (see mole people)
– 37,000 including 15,000 children
– up by 50% since the crisis

• Every night 1,000 people sleep in the subway system

• 1.5 million people registered as living in poverty (1 in 4)

• Richest 1% of NYC’s population controls 70% of the wealth

• Lack of affordable housing

• More and more fragmented (e.g. wealth distribution, living
conditions, access to education, etc.)

– Cost of living (see what things cost document)

– Ghettos

– Gated communities
Rent Prices in NYC and suburbs 1980-2011
Real Estate Prices: Golden
Ghettos in the Center and
Periphery (1980-2011)

What do you notice about the

differences between the
categories of property?
4.4) Quality of Life
Transportation
• Automobilization vs. Mass Transit

• 21st Century: Alternative transportation to automobiles

– Bicycles and Buses
– Increased pedestrian space e.g. Times Square
– Subway system – major challenges
4.5) Environmental hazards
Hurricane Sandy October 29, 2012
2nd Costliest Hurricane in US history ($65 billion): flooded streets,
tunnels and subway lines and cut power in and around the city
• Rising Sea Levels due to Global Warming
• Extreme Weather: Snowstorms
 New Mayor: Bill de Blasio

• De Blasio (left-wing) elected November 2013 after 3 terms of

Mayor Bloomberg (12 years) – (right wing)
Conclusion:
Despite the 9/11, 2001 attacks, when nearly 3,000 people died in the
destruction of Towers 1, 2, and 7 of the World Trade Center, the city has been
recovering. A new complex, which includes One World Trade Center, a 9/11
memorial and museum, and three other office towers, is being built on the
site. These attacks enforced the symbol of a world city and of American power.