Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
2. See Chapters 4 and 5 in this topic on the distinction between knowledge and
information.
3.
The figures reported here are for conurbations, and come from GEOPOLIS database,
rather than just city administrative boundaries. Therefore, New York City (five bor-
oughs) has only 7.549 million, the greater New York area has 18.7 million (OECD
2006), and the total New York conurbation (including Philadelphia) has over 24 million
inhabitants. Similarly, depending on the source used and methods of defining urban
areas, London city has only 7.4m inhabitants (OECD 2006) but the London conurba-
tion has a population of 8.5 million according to the
World Urbanization Prospects
(2008) [http://esa.un.org/unup/p2k0data.asp], a population of over 9.66m according to
GEOPOLIS, or a population of 11.22 million according to the
World Gazetteer
(www.
world-gazetteer.com). See Venables (2007).
4.
The city population figures here are from the OECD metropolitan database (OECD
2006) and differ slightly from the urban definitions employed in Table 7.2.
5.
Combining the OECD (2006) metropolitan productivity data with PPP national pro-
ductivity data at current prices (World Bank 2008) would also rank Singapore as the
30th highest productive city in the world, below Stuttgart and above Milan, and Hong
Kong as the 48th highest productivity city in the world, below Auckland and above
Hamburg.
6.
The figures here are from the OECD metropolitan database (OECD 2006 pp.38‒40)
and differ slightly from the urban definitions employed in Table 7.2. Moreover, the
OECD (2012) has just very recently produced new city-size estimates based on par-
ticular standardised definitions of population densities, population contiguity and
commuting patterns. However, combining these new estimates with the latest rank-
ings (COL 2009; Long Finance 2011) still leaves the overall arguments outlined here
unaffected.
7.
Population data comes from the OECD metropolitan database (OECD 2006 pp. 38‒40).
The data for Amsterdam is that of the Randstad, and the data for London is only the
area within the London city boundaries and does not include the whole London com-
muting area (OECD 2006).
8.
Combining the OECD (2006) metropolitan productivity data with PPP national pro-
ductivity data at current prices (World Bank (2008b) would also rank Singapore as the
30th highest productive city in the world, below Stuttgart and above Milan, and Hong
Kong as the 48th highest productivity city in the world, below Auckland and above
Hamburg.
9.
For our purposes we can regard Singapore and Hong Kong as city-states.
10.
Of which there are 13 in the top 50 world financial centres.
