Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
and imports, and the strength of capitalist tools such as financing through stock
markets and finance houses.
For geographers, the world systems model has been most simply elaborated by
Knox & Agnew (1989), drawing on an extensive literature from economists and
students of political economy. It does present a descriptive framework for study
of developing countries, and identifies a leading force, the international firm,
which determines much of the development process.
It can also serve to direct attention to some particular side-effects of
development. For example, the environment has some importance in a world
systems kind of model, since it can be noted that some kinds of manufacturing
process are “exported” from the advanced countries to the poor, because of their
toxic effects. Waste disposal and toxic chemical processes are more easily
tolerated by municipalities in the poorest countries. In addition, for processes
such as deforestation (see Ch. 4) there is little local control or concern over soil
erosion or the loss of biodiversity.
Global cities
World systems theory moves away from colonialism and nations, to firms. As a
geographic mechanism that enables the operation of these firms, Friedmann
(1986) described a special urban network, that of global cities, where the major
international firms placed their offices and which thus acted as centres for
regional economic activity. These were not just any large cities, but ones with
particular characteristics. They were:
(a) major finance centres;
(b) headquarters for transnational corporations;
(c) homes to international institutions—banks and agencies such as the World
Bank and the United Nations;
(d) strong in the sector of business services (financial services, legal, accounting,
advertising, marketing consultants, and the like);
(e) major manufacturing centres with high-level functions;
(f) transport and communications centres;
(g) possessed of a large population.
Friedmann was also able to identify world cities or global cities at two levels of
importance. As front-line world cities he included London, Paris, Rotterdam,
Frankfurt, Zurich, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Tokyo, São Paulo and
Singapore. This list leaves out many large cities, such as the cities of India, those
of northeastern Brazil, or those of Australia, or even cities like Manchester and
Osaka within the centre countries, as cities that do not rank high on international
function, although they have important manufacturing or other roles within their
national boundaries.
