The Contemporary World (Final Term)
I. Global City
A Global city, also known by other terminologies as “alpha city” or “world center”, is a city
regarded as a primary node in the global economic network.
- pertains to an urban center that enjoys significant competitive advantages and that serves as a hub
within a globalized economic system.
-emanates from the idea that globalization is created, facilitated, and enacted in a strategic geographic
locales according to a hierarchy of importance to the operation of the global system of finance and trade
- serves as an important focal point for business, global trade, finance, tourism and globalization to exist
- highly globalised and competitive metropolitan economies within the deepest and most settled
concentrations of firms, capital, and talent.
Essential Traits of a Global City
Apparent presence of a variety of international financial services notably, finance, insurance,
real estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing
Headquarters of several multinational corporations
Existence of financial headquarters, a stock exchange, and major financial institutions
Domination of the trade and economy of a large surrounding area
Major manufacturing centers with port and container facilities
Considerable decision-making power on a daily basis and at a global level
Centers of new ideas and innovation in business, economics, culture, and politics
Focal point of media and communications for global networks
Dominance of the national region with great international significane
High percentage of residents employed in the services sector and information sector
High-quality educational institutions, including renowned universitiesm international student
attendance, and research facilities
Multi-functional infrastructure offering some of the best legal, medical, and entertainment
facilities in the world
High diversity in language, culture, and ideologies
Analyzing Global Cities
GaWC study
Jon Beaverstock, Richard G. Smith, and Peter J. Taylor established the Globalization and World
Cities Research Network (GaWC). A roster of world cities in the GaWC Research Bulletin 5 is ranked by
their connectivity through four “advanced procedurer services”: accountancy, advertising,
banking/finance, and law.
Alpha ++ cities Alpha + cities Alpha cities Alpha - cities
Alpha ++ cities are Alpha + cities are highly Alpha cities and Alpha
cities most integrated integrated cities, filling – cities link major
with the global advanced service needs economic states and
economy. regions to the world
economy.
London Singapore Sydney Dublin
New York City Hong Kong Sao Paulo Melbourne
Paris Milan Washington D.C.
Beijing Chicago New Delhi
Tokyo Mexico City Bangkok
Dubai Mumbai Zurich
Shanghai Moscow Vienna
Frankfurt Taipei
Madrid Buenos Aires
Warsaw Stockholm
Johannesburg San Francisco
Toronto Guangzhou
Seoul Manila
Instanbul Bogota
Kuala Lumpur Miami
Jakarta Luxembourg
Riyadh
Santiago
Barcelona
Tel Aviv
Lisbon
Global Cities Index (GCI)
The GCI analyzes 128 cities in Six World Regions. The Global Cities Index examines the current
performance of cities based on 27 metrics spanning five dimensions: business activity, human capital,
information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. The Index provides insights into
the global reach, performance, and level of development of the world’s largest cities. It also allows for
the comparison of diverse cities and the identification of core strengths and distinctive differences.
The first 10 cities in the 2017 index continue to lead in 2018, but the city holding the first place
has changed once again. New York lost the top spot to London in 2016 after years of holding the lead.
This year, New York regained the first place ranking, largely by improving in information exchange and a
maintaining higher ranking than London in business activity and political engagement. New York’s
performance in these categories offset London’s strength in cultural experience, allowing New York to
unseat London. Both cities have high human capital in comparison to other cities in the Index.
On the other hand, the Global Cities Outlook evaluates a city’s potential based on the rate of
change for 13 metrics across four dimension: personal well-being, economics, innovation and
governance. These mterics help evaluate long-term investment and success by assessing elements such
as environmental performance, infrastructure, and innovation capacity. The Outlook brings a forward-
looking perspective to city-level policies and practices that shape future competitiveness, indentifying
growing cities that are likely to become the world’s most prominents cities.
II. Global Demography
Represent the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which
illustrate the changing structure of human populations and thus poses an effect on globalization on
holistic level.
Types of Demography
1. Static Demography
It means the study of anatomy or structure of community and their environment in the given
population.
2. Dynamic Demography
It deals with physiology or function of communities as regard changing pattern of mortality, fertility, and
migration.
Baby Boom –The term used to identify a massive increase in births following World War II.
Baby boomers are those people born worldwide between 1946 and 1964, the time frame most
commonly to define them.
In 1820 there were about one billion humans living on earth. In 2016 there were 7.33 billion. Today we
are close to 7.5 billion
According to research estimate, today's population is about to 6.9% of the total number of people ever
born.
The world is more populated than ever before – but growth is slowing down
In order to study how the world population changes over time, it is useful to consider the rate of change
rather than focusing only on the total population level.
The global average fertility rate is just below 2.5 children per women today.
Fertility is an element of population growth, reflecting both the causes and effects of economic and
social developments.
It is projected to fall to 2 by 2050.
Crude Birth and Death Rate
This is computed based on the number if births and deaths per 1000 people.
Mortality
Refers to the number of death.
Global Life Expectancy
Expectation of Life - at a given age is the average number of years which a person of that age may
expect to live, according to the mortality pattern relevant in that country.
WHO reported that 72.0 years was the average life expectancy at birth of the global population.
The Demographic Transition
The demographic transition theory is a generalized description of changing pattern of mortality, fertility,
and growth rate as societies move from one demographic regime to another.
Frank W. Notestein
What’s the link between population growth and development?
The link between population growth and development can be understood through a simple model,
called the ‘demographic transition.’ The model of demographic transition has five stages, which we
explain in the next chart.
– Stage 1: Population is stable. There is high fertility and high mortality; so deaths and births cancel out.
– Stage 2: Population grows rapidly. There is high fertility but low mortality.
– Stage 3: Population growth slows down. Social norms adapt to the fact that children survive. Fertility
declines with increasing education and labour opportunities of women.
– Stage 4: Population growth stops. Low fertility catches up with low mortality.
– Stage 5: Population potentially starts growing again. The evidence here is limited, but the idea is
that further social and economic opportunities may raise fertility again.
How does development lead to smaller families?
Parents choose to have smaller families when they can be confident that their children will survive and
thrive.
This chart shows that the average number of children per woman tends to be higher in countries where
child mortality is higher.
Using the slider at the bottom of the chart you can trace changes over time. You can check that as child
mortality goes down, fertility rates also go down.
The choice of having a child requires parents, but especially mothers, to consider the opportunity
costs that come with children – e.g. risking health, lower earnings, etc.
Education drastically affects opportunity costs, and because of this more educated women tend to have
fewer children.
This chart shows that there is a correlation between women's education and family size, across
countries and time. Looking at variation within countries shows the same: more educated women in a
country tend to have fewer children.
Silent Features of Population Growth
The current world population of 7.2 billion is projected to increased by 1 billion over the next 12 years
and reach 9.6 billion by 2050 according to the report of UN, which point out that growth will be mainly
in developing countries with more than half in Africa.
Approximately 95% of growth is occurring in developing countries.
Currently one third of world population is under the age of 15 and will soon enter the reproductive
bracket.
Estimate shows the world population is likely to reach 10 billion people by 2050.
The fertility rate in global is 2.5.
Population Explosion
China is the most populated country with approximately 1.39 billion people.
India's population will reach 1.53 billion by 2050 and will be the highest in the world.
Why is population growth is a problem?
We have seen exponential growth in the world's population in the past 200 years.
The more people on Earth the more resources are required.
Our has a limited carrying capacity meaning it can only sustain so many people before its natural system
starts to fall apart.
Many scientist believed that we have already exceeded the earth's carrying capacity.
III. Global Migration
Migration affects population patterns.
Immigration - happens when one enters or moving into another country.
Emigration - happens when one leave's their home country in order to move into another country
permanently.
IV. Sustainable Development
The term sustainability has no commonly agreed definition.
Following the literature on sustainability, there are many different views on what its nature is
and the means to achieve it.
Most definitions of sustainability point out that the term is interwoven with activities pertaining
to globalization and economic development.
Kahle and Gurel-Atay (2014) think of sustainability as the practice of maintaining processes of
productivity indefinitely, whether natural or man-made.
Another view explains sustainability as a science. As such, it is considered as the “study of how
natural systems function, remain diverse and productive everything it needs for the ecology to
remain in balance.” (Mason, n.d.)
When viewed this way, sustainability takes the form of a broad discipline connected with
environmental science but draws on political science, economics, philosophy, and other social
sciences as well as the hard science.
According to the website of Global Footprints organization, “sustainability is something everyone
can work towards…”
Sustainable development
The concept of sustainable development was officially introduced to the international community
in 1987 with the release of the report entitled Our Common Future, commonly referred to as the
Brundtland Report, by the United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. One of
the earliest recognized definitions of sustainable development is found in the Brundtland Report (41),
which states:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It contains within it two
concepts:
1. The concept of ‘needs’, particular, the essential needs of the world’s poor, to which overriding
priority should be given; and
2. The idea of limitations imposed by the state of technology and social organization on the
environment’s ability to meet present and future needs.
From the notion of an intergenerational framework in 1987, Sustainable development has evolved
into a concept that stresses inclusivity in the attainment of environmentally sustainable economic growth
(Sachs, 2015).
The Earth Charter, outlining the building of a just, sustainable, and peaceful global city in the 21 st
century, was published in 1992 following the UN Conference on Environment and Development, widely
known as the Earth Summit.
Agenda 21 – emphasizes that broad public participation in making decisions is an essential prerequisite
to attain sustainable development.
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
During the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000, under the leadership of former UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, the UN General Assembly announced the adoption of the United Nations
Millennium Declaration.
UN Millennium Declaration – it is the first ever global strategy with quantifiable targets agreed upon by
all UN member states as well as the major international development institutions.
(8) Millennium Development Goals:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women.
4. Reduce child mortality.
5. Improve maternal health.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.
7. Ensure environmental sustainability.
8. Develop a global partnership for development.
Below are some of the highlights of the UNDP’s publication (13-14):
1. The world met and exceeded its first MDG target, reducing the number of people living in extreme
poverty by more than half, from 1.9 billion people in 1990 to 836 million in 2012.
2. Although the world narrowly missed the MDG target, the proportion of chronically undernourished
people in developing countries fell from around 2 percent in 1990 to under 13% today.
3. The world met its education target, reducing the number of out-of-school children of primary school
age from 100 million in 2000 to 57 million in 2015.
4. Women worldwide now make up 41% of paid workers outside the agricultural sector, an increase from
35% in 1990.
5. In developing countries, the number of under five child-deaths declined from around 13 million in 1990
to 6 million in 2015.
6. New HIV infections dropped by 40% between 2000 and 2013.
7. Between 2000 and 2013, tuberculosis interventions saved an estimated 37 million lives.
8. In 2015, 91% of the global population had an improved source of drinking water, compared to 76% in
1990.
9. After stagnating, official development assistance rose by an unprecedented 66% between 2000 and
2014.
10. The resources developing countries divert to pay off external debts fell from an average 12% of export
revenue in 2000, to 3% in 2013.
The United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
As the deadline set for the MDGs was approaching the United Nations took the lead in defining
the future global development framework that would succeed the MDGs.
On September 25, 2015, all members of the UN General Assembly agreed to adopt the 2030
Development Agenda entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
This 2030 Development Agenda contains 92 paragraphs.
Paragraph 51 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development outlines the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals and the associated 169 targets, as follows:
GOAL 1: No Poverty
GOAL 2: Zero Hunger
GOAL 3: Good Health and Well-being
GOAL 4: Quality Education
GOAL 5: Gender Equality
GOAL 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
GOAL 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
GOAL 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
GOAL 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
GOAL 10: Reduced Inequality
GOAL 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
GOAL 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
GOAL 13: Climate Action
GOAL 14: Life Below Water
GOAL 15: Life on Land
GOAL 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions
GOAL 17: Partnership to achieve the Goal
What is new and different about the 17 SDGs?
1. Universability- these goals apply to every nation and every sector
2. Integration - it is recognized that the goals are all inter-connected in a system
3. Transformation - it is widely recognized that achieving these goals involves making big fundamental
changes in how we live on earth.
Three dimensions of sustainable development
Social Solidarity- equal opportunities for people, involving welfare, quality of life and sustainable human
development
Environmental responsibility - the ability to use natural resources without undermining the equilibrium
and integrity of ecosystems, reduce burden on the environment
Economic Efficiency- efficiency of economic and technological activities, foster investment and
productivity, economic growth, economic output potential
V. Food Security and Global Citizenship
The concept of food security is not confined to hunger and malnourishment alone. The initial notion of
food security was shaped by the famines in the early 1970s precipitated by adverse weather events.
After experiencing the global food price crisis in 1972-1973, the delegates to the 1974 UN World Food
Conference defined food security as “the availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of
foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production
and prices”. The definition conveys the people’s fear of lack of food supplies in times of crises.
Trends and Challenges to Global Food Security
1. Rising food prices and poverty
2. Population growth and Urbanization
3. Climate Change
