Tagged: Global City

Downtown Beirut and the bitter taste of a “reconstructed” supposed-to-be-centrality

Pre-war Beirut used to be the apparent centre of the Middle East: highly specialised economy, advanced tourist services, great cultural manifestations, and a beautiful strategic geographical situation. Unfortunately this is no more the case: Beirut, in spite of the reconstruction plan, has not been able to reclaim its lost supposed-to-be-centrality. One can go far and argue that Beirut was never a “real” centre, that is, where decision is made and where real power abides.

Sassen’s Global City, in the heart of centrality

In the heart of centrality, this is, indeed, the subject of the book of Saskia Sassen. New York, London and Tokyo command the global-city network in the world, that is, the cities in which the biggest number of financial and economic transactions, cultural manifestations, and “pivotal” decisions are made (hence “central functions”). Los Angeles, Toronto, Sao Paolo, Paris, Frankfurt, Johannesburg, Dubai, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Singapore belong to this network of global cities.

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