Abstract
Comparing the office networks of selected global service firms in 2000 with 2001 reveals 1,074 changes. Despite the period being one of world economic slowdown, approximately two-thirds of the changes were expansions. Legal services were the most expansionary; banking/finance and advertising grew the slowest. The geography of these changes is described in two ways. First, regional patterns are examined which show Pacific Asia as the leading growth region. Second, strata of world cities defined by their connectivity show that the ratio of expansion to retraction increases with the importance of cities. A map of change featuring 123 cities across the world confirms these regional and hierarchical geographies. Thus in a period of world economic slowdown, financial and business services are becoming more concentrated within the world city network.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 431-441 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | URBAN GEOGRAPHY |
| Volume | 24 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| Publication status | Published - 2003 |
Keywords
- advanced producer services
- global change
- globalization
- world cities
- world city network
- WORLD CITY NETWORK