Oraux : global cities

Oraux d’anglais

• « Global cities »

« The global city is one that tangibly influences global affaires in term of politics, culture and social economy. » defines the sociologist Saskia Sassen. To illustrate the notion of spaces and exchanges studied in class, we’re going to focus on those global cities: they attract people with their worldwide known, but also retain global capital, people and ideas as well as sustain their performances in the long term. But they also present several drawbacks. So, we can ask ourselves: living in a global city, a dream or a nightmare? We’re going to address this issue by relying on London and Singapore, two dynamics hubs, leaders in the world economy and international marketplaces.

         On the one hand, global cities connected by technology and trade drastically attract people who benefit from this wealth. Indeed, it enables better living conditions as high-quality schools, developed public services and infrastructures, health care programs and so on. That’s why, as observed on the table studied in class and called « Londoners through time », the inner population was multiplied by 1,2 between 1901 and 2009. This population growth is due to the development of London as a global city, and it shows that living in a global city makes your life more comfortable.

Moreover, these cities attract foreigners: they are multicultural. The pie chart on ethnic composition of resident population in Singapore shows that 74 percent of the population is Chinese, 30 percent is Malaysian and 9 percent is Indian. So, by living in a global city, you can learn about new cultures, meet different people… To be in a nutshell, you open yourself to the world.

But this concentration of people leads to several drawbacks…

Indeed, to meet the demand, global cities have to implant factories, which damage the environment. This is the case with London. In fact, we studied an oral comprehension which deals with the Great Smog (smoke and fog) in 1952 in London. About 12 000 people died due to this smog, caused by factories and chimneys smoke.

        In addition, because of their attraction global cities are overcrowded. And overcrowding means traffic jam. An oral comprehension listened in class showed us that commuting has become a real pain for the citizens. Traffic makes the urbanites transportation complicated, to the point where some people turn back home!

That’s why global cities have to find solutions…

        First, environment is a real issue of concern because of global warming’s progress. To solve it, BedZED project has been developed in London since 2002. A video watched in class explained to us that this sustainable project is a real lifestyle to save energies by recycling or using green transports. It has reduced energy consumption of 60 % in relation to the average domestic demand. That’s why the inhabitants have to limit their use of energies.

        Furthermore, to respond to the problem of overcrowding, Singapore has set up a system of « fine ». An image broken down in class showed us Singapore’s bans, as smoking, urinating or flower-picking. If people don't respect the law they are finned of one thousand dollars. So, the city is very strict and individual freedoms are limited, but there are no transgressions and Singapore is the cleanest city in the world.

To conclude, global cities present at the same time advantages and drawbacks. They offer comfortable way of life and are very rich in term of diversity, but they are also overcrowded and polluted. That’s why citizens have to respect laws and programs to live in this kind of city. So, living in a global city has a price, and David Lamb summarizes it in Smithsonian Magazine: he wrote « Singapore was admired but not envied ».

• « Idea of progress »

Progress is the idea that our world and our society can evolve positively in terms of sciences, technology, modernization, living conditions, and so on. Social progress has enabled for example to change South Africa from a segregated country to a place of peace and freedom. « I am no racialist and I detest racialism, because I regard it as a barbaric thing, whether it comes from a black man or a white man. » explained Mandela, an activist who fought for freedom in this country. So, how Nelson Mandela has become a worldwide symbol of social progress? First, he has done considerable progress in working towards race equality. Then, he inspired a lot of people to continue his fight against white supremacy.

To begin, it is necessary to specify the context. At the time of Mandela, South Africa was under Apartheid, a system of legal racial segregation inforced by the national government between 1948 and 1994. White interests should prevail over black interests, and Mandela was shocked and revolted about that. That’s why he started to demonstrate against white supremacy. An article broken down in class told us about Sharpeville Massacre. In 1960, nonviolent demonstrations were organized to protest the detested laws that forced all black South Africans to carry a pass book. 69 black people were killed. A few days later, Mandela burnt his own pass in protest of the atrocities at Sharpeville. It shows his will in his quest for progress.

Then, only a short time later, Mandela was imprisoned by the government. In the movie « Goodbye Bafana » watched in class, we saw him keeping in touch with other rebels. For example, during a visit of his wife, he talked to her in their native language, as a secret code, to give her indications about what she had to do to fight.

But Nelson Mandela has not only changed South Africa: he changed mentalities.

Indeed, he raised people awareness that in our modern societies, Apartheid can’t stand anymore. In an article published by the CNN, we learnt in class about a worldwide outrage: Soweto uprising. Hector Peterson, a thirteen-year-old boy enthused by Mandela ideas, took to the streets of Soweto among 30000 students protesting a government edict that all classes were to be taught in Afrikaans, the language of white minority. He died after being struck down by a policeman’s bullet, while he just wanted the progress of freedom.

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