20 Apr

Une synthèse à travailler pour les terminales euro.

Publié par Frédéric Heuzet - Catégories : #dnl, #london, #global city, #terminale

What makes London a global city ?

A global city (also called world city) is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. The major global centres of the world are New York, London, Tokyo, Paris... They are hubs around which people, capital, information and goods revolve. The term global city was first used in 1991 by a sociologist called Saskia Sassen, in The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo.

Urbanisation : London is a megapolis.

London is a mega city in the south east of the UK. The city of London has an official population of 8,3 million people.

But the London Metropolitan Area (Greater London and counties including towns like Slough, Luton and Potters Bars, etc.) has a population of around 13 million people in the flat land around the mouth of the river Thames and has a population density of about 4800 people per square km.

The population of London is growing but not rapidly, e.g the population of Greater London has gained less than 1 million people since 1981. People are moving into, out of and around the city :

Urbanisation is still occuring -people are migrating to Greater London from abroad ; almost all parts of Greater London gained, but the highest gains were in central areas, e.g Westminster and Camden.
Counter-urbanisation is also happening – people are moving out of Greater London to the UK, e.g in 2006 there was a net loss of around 80 000 people to other parts of the UK.
Re-urbanisation has happened around London Docklands – the area east of central London was to be a major port. The port moved upriver between 1965 and 1980 and the area was abandonned. It's been redevelopped since the 1980' and the population has more than doubled : e.g Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs, a new CBD

Sociology : a complex residential pattern

that includes contrasting rich and poor areas

parts of poorer areas in the east of inner London, e.g Hackney, have been changed because of gentrification. Richer people have moved in, making a mixed pattern of rich and poor people living near to each other.
Suburban growth has meant villages around London have become suburbs of London, e.g Streatham, a village that became a wealthy suburb as London grew in the 19th century. Other suburbs have grown around it ; wealthy people still live there, but it's also a destination for poorer immigrants.

Ethnic diversity : a display of an historical influence.

37% per cent of London's population were born outside the UK (the highest foreign born population of any city in the world)
Nearly a third of London population is from black, asian or other minority ethnic (BAME) groups.
Over the next ten years BAME groups will account for 80% of the increase in London's working age population.
Londoners speak over 300 languages and belong to at least 14 different faiths
Remember this : the British empire (mainly in the 19th and early 20th centuries) was one about it was used to say : « the empire on which the sun never sets »...

A current international influence.

Centres of media and communications for global networks: the BBC and other television broadcasters are world famous for the quality of their output, and the British press based in London has enormous power, e.g The Times, The Economist, The Guardian, The Sun.

43 universities and almost 103,000 international students living and learning across the city.

London hosts a number of sporting activities (Olympic Games in 2012 or Wimbledon), cultural events and international exhibitions (e.g London art fair or London fashion week-end). 15 million visitors per year come to see its museums, galleries... It is the second world's most-visited city as measured by international arrivals (just after Paris).

A political clout.

London is the capital city of the UK. The British monarchy (e.g Buckhingam Palace) is also the symbolic head of the Commonwealth of Nations (a free intergovernmental organisation of 53 member states that were mostly territories of the former British Empire, e.g Canada, Australia, India or South Africa).

London is the home of the British Parliament (House of Commons and the House of Lords in the Palace of Westminster) and government (10 Downing Street is the residence of the prime minister).

Many consulates, international conferences are in London.

A Global economy.

London has a post industrial economy - the economy used to be based on industry and manufacturing but now it is mostly based on services, e.g 85% of the people employed in London work in the services : London hosts a variety of international financial services, notably in finance, insurance, real estate, banking, accountancy, and marketing.

it's a major financial centre. London has one of the largest stock exchanges in the world ; over than 40% of the world's foreign equities are traded in London (more than NY) ; over than 30% of the world's currency exchanges take place in London.
many global banks have their headquarters in the centre of London, e.g HSBC ; 33% of the top TNC's have their European headquarters in London.
London has the fifth-or sixth-largest metropolitan area GDP in the world depending on measurement.
Tourism is a major par of the economy. London is one of the most popular cities to visit, e.g il attracts more than 15 million foreign tourists every year ; there are more than 240 museums and galleries, e.g the National Gallery, the War Museum ; 300 theatres, 500 cinema screens, 12,000 restaurants

A global connectivity.

London is a transport hub to many other destinations, Europe and the world ; all of London airport terminals see more than 100,000 flights per month ! The Eurostar links to Paris.