…you won’t find us on prestigious lists compiled by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) at Loughborough University in England. The Mori Memorial Foundation in Japan ranked cities using 70 indicators including the economy, research and development, “cultural interaction,” livability, environment and accessibility. Sociologist Janet Abu-Lughod identified only three from the United States in her influential 1999 book, “New York, Los Angeles, Chicago: America’s Global Cities.” …being a “world city” or “global city,” terms that emerged as globalization took hold in the 1990s, carries a specific connotation. From downtown Seattle, Expeditors International acts as a travel agent for freight around the world.ĭoes all this make Seattle a global city? Does it even matter? Microsoft has operations on five continents, and its software runs computers across the globe. Now, you can order a Starbucks coffee in more than 50 countries from Hong Kong to Hungary. My position on that argument is unchanged from what I laid out in 2007, but I bring the topic up again today because it was the subject of a lengthy editorial this week by the Seattle Times’ Jon Talton: To compete and thrive, Seattle strives for global status Back in the days when the housing bubble was inflating at full speed, a frequent argument trotted out by home salesmen lamely attempting to justify the ridiculously high home prices in the Seattle area was that Seattle is a “world class city,” and as such, it is reasonable to expect home prices here to be high.
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