A Multiple-perspectives Construct of the American Global City

Abstract

The term `global city' bestows an image of an urban place that is contemporary, international, multicultural, `wired', cosmopolitan, polarising and having geographically boundless power. Nevertheless, the literature fails to produce a common identity for setting the global city apart empirically and in analysing policy issues related to it. This paper argues and tests the proposition that the global city is better described and analysed from a holistic construct of competing perspectives. To do this, it: identifies seven global city dimensions; subjects the dimensions to a principal components analysis; and, uses the resulting composite factor to drive a K-means cluster analysis to differentiate 53 US urbanised areas. The results identify significant clusters that set apart global cities and provide a broadened base for cross-disciplinary comparative urban research.