1. In what sense are cities mediums of globalization?

 “World city/global city” approach played a leading role in providing a framework for the
relationship between globalization and cities. It offered a powerful conceptual outline to
theorize the interplay between the dynamics of globalizing world economy, emergent global
urban hierarchies, and the socio-economic and spatial trends within cities. Global city
theory made two invaluable contributions to both globalization and urban studies by fixing
its gaze onto cities as one of the strategic sites where globalization gets to be produced,
lived and experienced. Within the past two decades, city has emerged as a critical site for
analyzing dynamic and dialectic articulations of global and local processes. The
proliferation of concepts such as “informational city, “entrepreneurial city”, “transnational
city”, “world city,” and “global city’ reflect a growing concern in contemporary urban studies
to understand and theorize the link between contemporary globalization and urbanization
processes and the dynamic interplay between global and local forces in shaping cities.
“World city/global city” approach also became the main framework in shaping the urban
policy agendas of many powerful public and private institutions and actors around the
world.
2. Is economic power the most crucial determinant of global city? Why or why not?

 Yes .Economic power is the most crucial determinant of global city because it is the ability
of countries, businesses, or individuals to improve their standard of living. It increases their
freedom to make decisions that benefit themselves alone and reduces the ability of any
outside force to reduce their freedom. One of the examples is when people flocked to
certain regions expecting a better quality of life than what they had where they were. They
came from all over to neighborhood. This mass of diverse people in and around this
location had remained there because large numbers of them did find better opportunities to
improve their qualities of lives. These places evolved as towns. The combined efforts of the
town dwellers often provided newer opportunities and more people settled there. The towns
expanded in area and became cities. The trigger was economic development leading to
economic power. A global city has settlers from all over the world. Obviously these people
from all over the world came to the city expecting economic advantages. They stayed on
because much of their expectations were met. This was possible because of the city's
economic power.
 3. Does global cities are also experiencing inequality and are facing challenges? If there is
what are those? Justify your answer by giving specific examples or evidences

It is a fact that wealth inequality in cities across the world has accelerated dramatically. While
economic globalization has created great wealth, it is increasingly clear that the benefits of this
growth are very unevenly distributed. Wealth has accumulated at the very top of the income
scale while the wages paid for the service jobs that have replaced manufacturing jobs lost to
globalization have stagnated or declined. If this growing inequality is both harmful for urban residents
and an inexorable part of the global city, then this is a serious problem for the idea that global cities
are a benefit for the majority of their residents.

Framing the inequality problem this way invites two potential responses. The first is that inequality in
global cities is not harmful, even if it is inexorable. The second is that even if it is harmful, inequality is
not inexorable. The first response is less convincing than the second, and even in that case we can
see that the problems of inequality are very difficult to address. But address them cities must, or they
will risk losing the dynamism that makes them attractive in the first place.

This idea, economist Edward Glaeser told the forum’s audience, begins with recognizing that some
degree of inequality has historically been a sign that city is functioning well. People are attracted to
urban spaces because they offer opportunities.

“In a more globalized more complicated world, the fundamental advantages of urban density just
becomes magnified because, at our heart, we are a social species, we get smart by being around
other smart people, and [cities] connect us with other people.”

As gateways for immigrants and opportunity seekers, cities represent the best chance at the
economic participation, education, and social services necessary for upward mobility. The city’s rich
and poor have, Glaeser argued much to gain from their interaction and so, “cities shouldn’t apologize
for their poverty because cities don’t make people poor … cities attract poor people with the promise
of economic opportunity.”

However, as Glaeser himself noted, this only works to the poor’s benefit if the mechanisms of social
mobility still work. Whether, in other words, inexorable inequality in global cities is harmful depends
on whether it is short-lived for individual people and part of a general pattern of upward social
mobility. Cities may not make people poor, but bad policy and neglect can keep them that way.

 Environmental threats

Rapid urbanization, which strains basic infrastructure, coupled with more frequent and extreme
weather events linked to global climate change is exacerbating the impact of environmental threats.
Common environmental threats include flooding, tropical cyclones (to which coastal cities are
particularly vulnerable), heat waves and epidemics.

Owing to the physical and population density of cities, such threats often result in both devastating
financial loss and deaths. Making cities more resilient against these environmental threats is one of
the biggest challenges faced by city authorities and requires urgent attention.
  2. Resources

Cities need resources such as water, food and energy to be viable. Urban sprawl reduces available
water catchment areas, agricultural lands and increases demand for energy. While better application
of technology can boost agricultural productivity and ensure more efficient transmission of electricity,
many cities will continue to struggle to provide these resources to an ever-growing urban population.

Beyond these basic requirements, haphazard growth will see the reduction of green spaces within
cities, negatively affecting liveability. As fresh water becomes scarce and fertile lands diminish, food
prices may escalate, hitting the poorest hardest.

 Inequality

When it comes to the provision of basic resources and resilience against environmental threats, the
forecast is uneven for different groups of urban inhabitants. As the number of urban super-rich grows,
many cities will also see increased numbers of urban poor.

The widening gap between the haves and have-nots will be accentuated in the megacities of the
future. Such inequalities, when left unchecked, will destabilize society and upend any benefits of
urban development. There is a critical need for policy-makers to ensure that the fruits of progress are
shared equitably.

 Technology

Technology will be increasingly used in the development and running of cities of the future. Smart
planning used in Singapore can harness solar energy for use in housing estates and create man-
made wetlands for ecological balance. Smart mobility technology can alleviate traffic gridlocks which
plague many cities.

The use of environmental technologies which can cool buildings more efficiently or run vehicles that
are less polluting will also lead to better future cities. Installing sensors in the homes of ageing seniors
living alone can connect them to the community and summon help when they are unwell or hurt.

However, technology can exclude urban inhabitants who cannot afford it or lack the capability
required for its adoption. As future cities become more digitized, care must be exercised to prevent
the emergence of a new form of social divide rooted in the technological.

 Governance

Future cities offer immense possibilities to enrich the lives of their inhabitants even as the challenges
are stark. To make the best out of inevitable urbanization, good governance is imperative. Cities will
increase in size and their populations become more diverse. Governing these cities will, therefore, be
progressively complex and require the most dedicated of minds.

Increasingly, cities around the world are learning about the best governance and planning practices
from one another, even as they remain accountable to their respective national governments. The
broad goals of urban governance should address issues of equity, live ability and sustainability in
cities of the future.