Global giants

A city is a human settlement with a large population. While cities have been a feature of human civilisations for many centuries, they have only become the predominant way of life as a result of industrialisation, with rapid urbanisation meaning that more than half the world’s population now lives in cities.

Global cities (sometimes referred to as power cities, world cities, alpha cities or world centres) are cities that form primary urban hubs in the global economy. The criteria for the designation of global cities is highly contested, but generally global cities are thought to include:

• New York.
• Paris.
• Tokyo.
• London.
• Hong Kong.
• Singapore.
• Shanghai.
• Dubai.
• Paris.
• Los Angeles.
• Berlin.

For more information see: Global cities.

Redefining global cities: The seven types of global metro economies, published by the Global Cities Initiative in 2016, defines global giants as: ‘Large, wealthy hubs with concentrations of corporate headquarters; they serve as the command and control centers for the world’s largest advanced economies.’

Global giants are nodes for the world's financial markets, capital and talent and typically have large populations, a high concentration of wealth, high GDP and significant direct foreign investment. They are highly innovative and have a large amount of air traffic.

It is generally accepted that there are six global giants:

• New York.
• Los Angeles.
• Tokyo.
• Osaka.
• Paris.
• London.

Asian anchors are in fast growing areas of the world and are similar to global giants, but less wealthy and less globally connected and have lower productivity. For more information see: Asian anchors.

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings

• Asian anchors.
• City.
• Combined authorities.
• Conurbation.
• Cosmopolitan.
• Global city.
• Megacity.
• Megalopolis.
• Metropolis.
• Municipality.
• Principality.
• Rural.
• Smart city.
• Town.
• Types of city.
• Urban.