UPPER MIDDLE CLASS INFLUENCE IN GLOBAL CITIES

What is it about?

The central feature distinguishing global cities from other cities is transnational connectedness. But another important consideration in urban globalization is the disproportionately high presence of upper middle class (UMC), whose membership includes institutional professionals at the forefront of postmodern awareness and international experience. Symbolized by a lifestyle genre, the UMC is more than a marker of the global city. It exerts a subliminal influence that prescribes the cityscape policy that outcome planners emphasize to ensure centrality for the metropolitan area in global exchange. This paper (1) theorizes about this relationship underlying global-city development, (2) proposes a construct for each variable, (3) presents some preliminary empirical evidence of the association, and (4) draws some implications about its socioeconomic impacts.

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Why is it important?

Some believe that "all cities are global." But in terms of metropolitan character, cultural robustness, global connectedness, and sustainability, global cities stand apart in their vastly greater resource capabilities, their defining influence over national and international policy, and their stimulus of socioeconomic innovation and change. Knowing what drives their connectedness offers insight for researchers interested in grasping the role, place and prospects of global cities.