Spaces and exchanges: What impact do global cities have on people’s everyday lives?

The geography of trade channels and networks of influence, but also the discoveries and conquest of new lands are areas that often extend beyond the borders of states. Today, despite the great inequality of development, the world has never been so integrated, as ties of all kinds between peoples and countries have become closer. Exchanges have taken on new dimensions in the unification of spaces and peoples, languages and visions of the world. Each society is thus shaped by conflicts between the individual and the universal, which are often intersected by oppositions between tradition and modernity. From this development results cities which are politically or culturally influential and attract business from near and far, they’re called global cities.

What impact do global cities have on people’s everyday lives?

The urban development is the increase in the number of people who live in towns and cities. It has a great impact in the development of spaces and exchanges. Indeed, in London were living only 1 million of people in 1800 whereas in 1900 there were 6.7 million inhabitants in the city. Likewise, the number of inhabitants in Singapore went from 1 million in 1950 to 5.18 million in 2011. This increase of population is due to the raise of job opportunities as well as to the better living condition. As a matter of fact in Singapore the infant mortality rate is very low, only 2 deaths for 1000 live births, and the average of life expectancy is high, almost 82 years. All those factors permit the increase of the globalised economy. In fact the more work a city offers, the more it attracts foreigners, and the more its economy grows. Thus, the city takes more and more importance on the international scene and gradually becomes a global city.

Global cities, term used for the first time by Saskia Sassen, are the results of Urban development. As London concentrates 33% of the top multinationals headquarters , global cities are the leaders in the world economy. Moreover they’re home to international marketplaces, they have dynamic hubs, we can cite for instance the Eurostar who links London to Paris. They also have World-Class Universities, as London contains 43 universities of higher education. From global cities results diversity. They’re a magnet for national and foreigners, Singapore for example have 1.4 million of non-resident foreigners. We can also notice a diversity of culture and languages. In Singapore, 74.1% of the population is Chinese, 13.1% are Malay, 9.2% are Indian.

There are consequences to the urban development as overcrowding, apparition of slums, pollution, congestion… In reaction to these urban issues, governments take initiatives as the Congestion Charge in London, or the establishment of fines in Singapore.

Global cities are not completely new phenomenon : London has long been of international importance, but new cities have emerged such as Singapore. These urban concentrations create both opportunities to be exploited and problems to be solved. The growth of global cities has brought a wealth of cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity, helping to enrich everyday life and open new possibilities of exchange. However, the needs of such dense populations have led to serious problems in terms of environment. Will global cities find a way to create a sustainable environment in the future in parallel to their development?

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