World Cities Hsc Geography free essay sample

Demonstrate why World Cities are powerful centres of economic and cultural authority. World cities have become the command centres of the ever increasingly globalised world economy. These cities are highly equipped with the most advanced communication technologies and consequently play the lead role in organising the concentration and accumulation of world capital, as well as being the preferred location for specialised service firms such as accounting and law. This can be observed through the large number of TNC headquarters located in world cities.Consequently, world cities have gained a large amount of economic authority. Furthermore, due to their ability to generate and spread ideas, values and influence specific cultural processes world cities have also gained cultural authority. This is through having strong media outlets and many tourist attractions. New York and London are prime examples of world cities with economic and cultural authority. One of the main reasons for world cities having such economic authority is due to large concentration of TNC headquarters in these cities. We will write a custom essay sample on World Cities Hsc Geography or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page For example, London has 220 headquarters of UK’s top 500 companies such as two of the world largest banks HSBC and Barclays. These TNCs conduct lots of business internationally generating vast amounts of revenue and consequently have a large amount of power and influence. The fact that world cities also have strong communications and transport technologies help to allow these TNCs conduct business so efficiently. For example New York’s John F Kennedy Airport has the most international traffic in the U. S allowing for greater mobility of human capital.World cities also have large markets for a vast range in goods and services. For example the economy of New York generated $1. 28 trillion is 2010, and while most of this was from the financial and insurance industries, there has been significant growth in N. Y’s creative industries such as new media and advertising. Similarly, London also has large a large economy, generating $448 billion in 2009. World cities also have cultural authority from their ability to generate and spread ideas and values which is aided by improved communication technologies.For example, many large sporting events are held in world cities and broadcast internationally. The upcoming London 2012 Olympics and the Golden Glove amateur boxing tournament in New York are prime examples of this. The spread of these ideas and values are also aided by large media outlets with an international reach. For example the news channel CNN which has headquarters in New York, although primarily broadcasting in the U. S, also broadcasts internationally to places like Australia and the Caribbean. Similarly London has the BBC news, also broadcasting internationally.As well as having the ability to generate and spread values, world cities are also able to attract large amounts of tourist. It is estimated that London attracts 26 million tourists a year, with the main attractions being the British Museum, National Gallery and the Globe Theatre. New York’s main tourist attractions include the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty and the Grand Central Terminal. In 2010 it was estimated that 48. 7million tourists visited New York. In summary world cities are both economically and culturally significant in a global economy.They have economic authority through having advanced communication technologies, allowing for headquarters of large TNCs to conduct business on a global scale. This has led to large concentrations of specialised services in world cities such as in accounting and law. World cities also have cultural authority by being able to generate and spread ideas and values through powerful media outlets with international reach. They also have the ability to attract large amounts of tourists by housing significantly global monuments. These are the primary reasons for world cities having cultural and economic significance.