Introduction
The article, Measurement of the World City Network, by Taylor, Catalano, and Walker explores the process of constructing a data set that can be employed to quantify intercity relations. Walker and Taylor are lecturers at the Loughborough University in the Geography department. Catalano is a lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Political Science at the Calabria University in Italy. The authors have a myriad of experience and carried this research for the World City Network Formation in a Space of Flow project. The article provides an interesting insight into the process of collecting data and using the results to proactively create an interlocking network for a modern city, concerning London and New York. Specifically, the data collected was converted into a service value in measuring the network connectivity within the case study cities. The authors concluded that the cities of London and New York are exceptions and not exemplars in comparison with other global cities. This paper attempts to explicitly review the content of the article and present central arguments put forwards by the three authors.
Measurement of the World City Network
The article concentrates on the formal specification of a modern global city based on a network of service centers interlocked with nodal, intermodal, and sub-nodal levels. Specifically, the basic information gathering should concentrate on the major service firms, from which firms that follow a global strategy are selected. The other criteria of selection include the interests and economic importance of these service providers. Through the use of the scavenger data production method, the article suggests that is possible to measure the service providers based on their current network location. By concentrating on 10 cities across the globe, the authors were able to express the grand interlocking connections as a proportion of gross network. The findings revealed that the major firms in the rising cities, in terms of rank, have better connectivity than similar firms in municipalities that are ranked in the lower percentile. The cities of New York and London have a very complex structure as compared to the simple hierarchical models such as Tokyo and Paris.
The concept of exception is covered in the article as a measure of a global city network. Comprehending globalization in the lenses of urbanization requires proactive development of extra-territorial competency. For instance, distinctiveness in service provision makes a city to become an exception, as is the case with New York and London. Factually, the authors concluded that the existence of well-planned and expansive firms within a city has the potential of improving the global network coverage, especially when the service providers are concentrated in a single location. However, there is a need to integrate other variables to make a scientific conclusion on whether a municipality qualifies to be a global city or not.
Conclusion
In summary, I have gained an insight into factors that are considered in declaring a municipality as a global network city. Actually, the classification is determined by the concentration of active network of service provider firms within such cities. However, if I can meet the authors, I would seek clarification on why they used the scavenger data production method, which is not accurate for a large sample space. It is important to quantify the total service value to know the size of a global city network.
Reference list
Taylor, P. J., Catalano, G., & Walker, D. R. F. (2002). Measurement of the World City Network.Urban Studies, 39(13), 2367–2376. Web.