[edsg25]

One of the things I hate most about the skyscraper forum (and probably have made others sick of hearing me gripe about it) is the ranking of US cities and the feeling that there is a cut-off point (or even that one has to go up for another to go down). And while I do believe there is some limitation to "world class cities", much of that thinking I just plain do not buy.

Quite simply, if London and Paris can exist as world class cities a stone throw away from each other, there is a lot to suggest that the greatness of one city does not depend on the vulnerability of another.

Therefore, I thought I would throw this question out to you:

How do you know that an American city has arrived, that it has truly created an envirnoment that is "world class", major, a player without question?

What are the factors: both physical (facts on the ground), population (size? and diversity), culturally, business, transportation....actually everything!

I'm not into censorship, and even if I were, I don't control what other posts. But as this was the initial post, please note that I

1. did not mention any American city (and included London and Paris only for comparitive purposes)

2. did not feel this thread was subject to "numbers"....that is, this is not a competitive thing, but an assumption that any number of US cities can achieve this status.

So I am trying here to totally eliminate any comparison (or mentioning) of US cities since I'm more interested in the generic things any of them would need to be great.

I'm really trying to come up with "If it walks like a world class city and it talks like a world class city, it is a world class city": so, what factors does it take to walk and talk that way?

 

[maxpowers20]

Dude you seem to have a massive inferiority complex! Chicago aint a world city and probably never will be!

To be a world class city it has to be the economic and everything else capital of an important country, i.e. New York, London, Paris, Tokyo. In terms of the USA, LA and Chicago could well be world cities if they were economic hubs in their own right, but they'll always play second fiddle to NY!

Secondary World cities i guess could include Sydney, Fankfurt, Hong Kong. Here, they are the showpiece city of their respective country, but aren't in the same league as the big 4!

 

[Justadude]

^ Oh... my ... god...

Did you not even READ the original post?!?

 

[Rockford]

What is this Big 4 crap? Did anybody think to ask Shanghai, Moscow, Sao Paulo, Mexico City, Seoul, Jakarta, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Cairo, Berlin, Rome, Bangkok, Sydney, Toronto, Istanbul, Lagos and yes, Chicago, LA, SF, and DC how they feel about their respective places on planet Earth.

Let's see....Moscow controls a swath of Earth twice the size of Europe, Beijing and New Delhi are the capital of one billion plus each.

How exactly does Paris come in above these places in the greater scheme of things?????

 

[Rockford]

Did Napoleon make a triumphant miraculous return while no one was watching???

 

[maxpowers20]

Good Napoleon joke there that took a while.

Just a question, are you guys all American?

 

[Justadude]

^ Troll.

 

[brooklynprospect]

To be a world class city it has to be the economic and everything else capital of an important country,

Not all "important" countries are equally important. America is FAR more economically, politically and culturally important than Germany, France, Japan, or the UK on their own.

So although France, the UK, and Japan seem to support one alpha, world-class, gobally top-tier city (or whatever you want to call it), that's not a reason why America must only have one city in that category as well.

But that being said, I do have a feeling America has a similar "problem" to Germany. Germany is bigger and economically more important than France or the UK, but unlike those two countries, doesn't have a dominant city. Instead it has maybe 4 more or less equally important ones to split it's arts, business, and media between. So none of those cities can aquire the critical mass of London or Paris, even though Germany as a whole is bigger. America is also very unconcentrated. And no city outside of NY really stands out on the global stage.

LA is already very visible and is a great long-term contender to be as important as say Paris or London (I question how important Paris is by the way), but is kind of stuck with a disfunctional leadership and the recent collapse of it's corporate base.

Chicago unfortunately finds itself in a declining unfashionable (of my ivy classmates, no one outside of the midwest wanted to end up there) region, and plays kind of a second, third or fourth fiddle to NY in too many areas. In other words, outside of derivates and commodities (and there tenuously), it hasn't found any niches where it securely leads NY.

The Bay Area is very globally important in something that can't get no respect on this forum - tech. And it's possible to argue that technological progress is more economically and socially important than anything else in today's world. But even in tech, it feels like Silicon Valley might soon become just a first among equals with competitors like Bangalore, Chinese centers, Japan, S Korea, Boston, etc.

Every other significant city in America (of which there are many) just doesn't have the mass.

Anyway, Paris, probably London and possibly NY will be blown away by Shanghai and Mumbai in 40-50 years, but that's another topic.

 

[rocky]

all you americans questioning paris make yourself look bad.

 

[brooklynprospect]

all you americans questioning paris make yourself look bad.

I didn't say it's not beautiful or historically important. I'm talking about importance in 2005.

 

[rocky]

^^thats why i second what i said earlier haha

 

[brooklynprospect]

^^thats why i second what i said earlier haha

very witty

 

[rocky]

from wikipedia

Paris
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses of the term "Paris," see Paris (disambiguation).

The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world.Paris is the capital city of France, as well as the capital of the Île-de-France région, whose territory encompasses Paris and its suburbs. The city of Paris proper is also a département, called Paris département (French: département de Paris).

Paris, together with its suburbs and satellite cities, forms the Greater Paris metropolitan area, with a population estimated at 11.5 million as of January 2004. It is the second largest metropolitan area in Europe (after Moscow, and along with London), and approximately the 20th largest in the world.

Greater Paris metropolitan area, with a total GDP higher than Australia, is the largest financial and business center of Europe (alongside London), harboring more than 30% of France's white-collar population, as well as more than 40% of the headquarters of French companies, with the largest business district of Europe (La Défense), and the 2nd largest stock exchange in Europe (Euronext).

Known worldwide as the City of Light (la Ville Lumière), Paris has been a major tourist destination for centuries. The city is renowned for the beauty of its architecture, its urban perspectives and avenues, as well as the wealth of its museums. Built on an arc of the River Seine, it is divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to the south.

Formerly the capital of a colonial empire stretching over five continents, Paris is still regarded as the heart of the French-speaking world and has retained a strong international position, hosting the headquarters of the OECD and the UNESCO among others. This, combined with its financial, business, political, and tourism activities, have turned Paris into one of the major transportation hubs in the world. Alongside New York, London, and Tokyo, Paris is among the four most important global cities.


I didnt said it its wiki! plus we have a disneyland in our metro area. Paris is almost the capital for most of africa too, since most of the francophones africans elite are in paris or often go to paris.

bloody french did it

 

[maxpowers20]

Finally some non-Americans to talk sense! (mass generalisation)

London and Paris are hugely important global cities due to the UK and France's dominating position in the EU. Germany should be in there, but due to some problems (WWII nazis etc) they weren't invited to the party.

Like it or not ask any analyst and they'd say London, Paris, NY and Tokyo are the 'Big 4', in terms of economic and political influnce.

As for the original point of US cities 'making it' it as truly global cities, LA and Chicago are pretty much there, but wont get much further.

 

[Rockford]

brooklyn wrote


Chicago unfortunately finds itself in a declining unfashionable (of my ivy classmates, no one outside of the midwest wanted to end up there) region, and plays kind of a second, third or fourth fiddle to NY in too many areas. In other words, outside of derivates and commodities (and there tenuously), it hasn't found any niches where it securely leads NY.


um dude, last time I checked virtually the entire Midwest is growing faster than the entire Northeast. New York and Boston are actually in the middle of the real declining region. And anyone who drops the "Ivy" league crap wouldn't be welcome in the Midwest anyhow.

 

[Rockford]

and I repeat, how is Paris, the capital of a country of 55 million (and actively ceding its autonomy to Brussels as we speak) more important than Moscow????

I JUST DON"T GET IT!!! Ditto for Beijing and Delhi.

 

[crawford]

and I repeat, how is Paris, the capital of a country of 55 million (and actively ceding its autonomy to Brussels as we speak) more important than Moscow????

I JUST DON"T GET IT!!! Ditto for Beijing and Delhi.

How about global capital of the French-speaking world?

 

[rocky]

moscow will be more important than paris when rich, but for the moment, see my post above, paris surpasses moscow because russia is poor as ****.

 

[brooklynprospect]

How about global capital of the French-speaking world?

sorry to burst your bubble, but the French-speaking world consists of France, 1/5 of Switzerland, less than half of Belgium, Quebec, maybe Haiti (creole), a few tiny tropical islands, and some of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa, itself by far the poorest and least developed continent in the world.

If those African countries actually mattered for anything, Washington would've taken them away from France's orbit a long time ago. South Africa by itself counts for far more than all of them put together.

 

[Rockford]

How about global capital of the French-speaking world?

Are you sure you are in Cambridge?

More people speak Portuguese than French, does that make Lisbon more important than Delhi???

Globalize people, gloooobalize. Outside of Europe and the northeast of America, such opinions are downright embarassing.