The Ten Most Important US Cities (and in Canada)

[Smuttynose1]

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a UK-based think tank that ranks cities into 'Alpha', 'Beta', and 'Gamma' tiers based on their international connectedness (or at least GaWC's measure of it). The ranking apparently focuses on accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law and relies heavily on city economics.

Last updated in 2000, the following US and Canadian cities rank in the Alpha and Beta categories:

Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states/regions and highly integrated into the world economy.

ALPHA ++
New York

ALPHA
Chicago
Los Angeles
Toronto, CAN

ALPHA -
Boston
Montreal, CAN
San Francisco

Beta level cities are cities that link moderate economic regions to the world economy.

BETA +
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston
Miami
Vancouver, CAN
Washington, DC

BETA
Denver
Philadelphia
Seattle

BETA -
Austin
Detroit
Minneapolis
San Diego
Tampa

Now what's your take on this? Specifically how would you rank the 10 Most Important Cities in the United States?

My list, in no particular order, would look something like this (with reasoning included)...

1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles -- I don't think the 'Big 3' are particularly controversial and require a lot of reasoning

4. San Francisco -- Massive Tech Center, ground zero for gentrification/housing crisis, iconic landscapes and landmarks, historically associated with advent of hippy culture, LGBTQ rights, center for wealth and influential economic/philanthropic leaders, major finance center

5. Washington, DC -- Seat of US Federal Government, major center for politics and those working in public service, Think Tanks all over the place, major contributions to urban planning, one of best functioning US public transit systems, iconic landmarks and landscapes, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

6. Boston -- De Facto Capital of New England, Major tech/biotech center, huge university presence including Harvard & MIT, major medical sector, closely associated with US/Colonial & literary history, unique architecture & layout, well-known dialect/blue collar traditions, finance center, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

7. Atlanta -- De Facto Capital of the New South, large diversified booming economy, major film/music center, major growth center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of growth/development, major corporate center (CNN, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Delta, etc), significant cultural diversity, ginormous airport, major center for African American culture and history

8. Seattle -- Anchors the Pacific Northwest, Home/birthplace to many influential companies, i.e. Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, etc., culturally significant, home of grunge music, stunning natural environment, major port, major green technologies/clean tech center, strong environmental justice movement

9. Dallas -- One of the capitals of Texas/Southwest (considering the growth/influence of Texas, this seems appropriate), largest fully land-locked metro area, diversified booming economy, emerging tech center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of development, emerging arts center, Old West/Cowboy Culture, significant cultural diversity, giant airport

10. Miami -- Major Hispanic/Latin American Center, major Port, tourism center, South Beach, largest metro in Florida/Southern US, close cultural/economic ties to Latin America

Very close to ranking:
Philadelphia -- Meds and Eds Center, Colonial History, major academic/higher ed center, population center, key part of Northeast megalopolis, largest city in swingiest of states / Hurt by its location so close to NYC/DC

Denver -- Anchors Intermountain West Region, major growth center, emerging technology-based economy, major outdoor recreation center, youthful/environmental justice-oriented population, large but isolated airport / Hurt by its smaller size

My list takes into account geographic context, which I don't think is really considered in the GaWC ranking.

I also thought about how this list would look if Canadian cities were incorporated. I couldn't settle on a Top 10 List, but a Top 12 List including Canadian cities would include Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver at the expense of Dallas.

[JManc]

Houston should be in that top ten list. It even made it up to Alpha - for a while.

[craigs]

GaWC doesn't list the "most important" cities, it has a very specific criteria and makes a list accordingly.

[fleonzo]

Is there a link? Thanks in advance...

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by fleonzo

Is there a link? Thanks in advance...

LINK: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/g...orld2020t.html


In each grouping, Smuttynose1 ordered cities alphabetically but there's actually some variation within each group. For Canada/US cities, the study ranking is as follows:


ALPHA++
1. New York

ALPHA
2. Los Angeles
3. Toronto
4. Chicago

ALPHA-
5. San Francisco
6. Montreal
7. Boston


BETA+
8. Washington
9. Dallas
10. Miami
11. Houston
12. Atlanta
13. Vancouver

BETA
14. Denver
15. Philadelphia
16. Seattle

BETA-
17. Calgary
18. Tampa
19. Minneapolis
20. San Diego
21. Detroit
22. Austin

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Smuttynose1

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a UK-based think tank that ranks cities into 'Alpha', 'Beta', and 'Gamma' tiers based on their international connectedness (or at least GaWC's measure of it). The ranking apparently focuses on accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law and relies heavily on city economics.

Last updated in 2000, the following US and Canadian cities rank in the Alpha and Beta categories:

Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states/regions and highly integrated into the world economy.

ALPHA ++
New York

ALPHA
Chicago
Los Angeles
Toronto, CAN

ALPHA -
Boston
Montreal, CAN
San Francisco

Beta level cities are cities that link moderate economic regions to the world economy.

BETA +
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston
Miami
Vancouver, CAN
Washington, DC

BETA
Denver
Philadelphia
Seattle

BETA -
Austin
Detroit
Minneapolis
San Diego
Tampa

Now what's your take on this? Specifically how would you rank the 10 Most Important Cities in the United States?

My list, in no particular order, would look something like this (with reasoning included)...

1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles -- I don't think the 'Big 3' are particularly controversial and require a lot of reasoning

4. San Francisco -- Massive Tech Center, ground zero for gentrification/housing crisis, iconic landscapes and landmarks, historically associated with advent of hippy culture, LGBTQ rights, center for wealth and influential economic/philanthropic leaders, major finance center

5. Washington, DC -- Seat of US Federal Government, major center for politics and those working in public service, Think Tanks all over the place, major contributions to urban planning, one of best functioning US public transit systems, iconic landmarks and landscapes, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

6. Boston -- De Facto Capital of New England, Major tech/biotech center, huge university presence including Harvard & MIT, major medical sector, closely associated with US/Colonial & literary history, unique architecture & layout, well-known dialect/blue collar traditions, finance center, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

7. Atlanta -- De Facto Capital of the New South, large diversified booming economy, major film/music center, major growth center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of growth/development, major corporate center (CNN, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Delta, etc), significant cultural diversity, ginormous airport, major center for African American culture and history

8. Seattle -- Anchors the Pacific Northwest, Home/birthplace to many influential companies, i.e. Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, etc., culturally significant, home of grunge music, stunning natural environment, major port, major green technologies/clean tech center, strong environmental justice movement

9. Dallas -- One of the capitals of Texas/Southwest (considering the growth/influence of Texas, this seems appropriate), largest fully land-locked metro area, diversified booming economy, emerging tech center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of development, emerging arts center, Old West/Cowboy Culture, significant cultural diversity, giant airport

10. Miami -- Major Hispanic/Latin American Center, major Port, tourism center, South Beach, largest metro in Florida/Southern US, close cultural/economic ties to Latin America

Very close to ranking:
Philadelphia -- Meds and Eds Center, Colonial History, major academic/higher ed center, population center, key part of Northeast megalopolis, largest city in swingiest of states / Hurt by its location so close to NYC/DC

Denver -- Anchors Intermountain West Region, major growth center, emerging technology-based economy, major outdoor recreation center, youthful/environmental justice-oriented population, large but isolated airport / Hurt by its smaller size

My list takes into account geographic context, which I don't think is really considered in the GaWC ranking.

I also thought about how this list would look if Canadian cities were incorporated. I couldn't settle on a Top 10 List, but a Top 12 List including Canadian cities would include Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver at the expense of Dallas.

Chicago is not more important than Los Angeles and it's arguable that San Francisco is also more important than Chicago

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by craigs

GaWC doesn't list the "most important" cities, it has a very specific criteria and makes a list accordingly.

All rankings by every study are based on a set of criteria. Most important? That depends on what one deems important. One can't infer or conclude anything more than that.

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Chicago is not more important than Los Angeles and it's arguable that San Francisco is also more important than Chicago

According to the study, Los Angeles is ahead of Chicago. Check Post #5. As in all studies, reading what metrics were used, why they were used, and what weighting they gave each matters.

GaWC isn't a ranking of how big each city's economy or population is. Those 2 things influence the ranking but they're just 2 of many metrics analyzed. It bears mentioning that Amsterdam with only 2.5 million in the metro is ranked ahead of far larger cities like Mexico City, Chicago, and Madrid. Stockholm is ranked way higher than Houston. It helps to remind oneself that this study focuses on World Cities as it pertains to Globalization. How globally dialled in are they economically, culturally, politically, and socially? Some of these smaller metros punch way above their weight in that respect.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by isaidso

According to the study, Los Angeles is ahead of Chicago. Check Post #5. Ass in all studies, reading what metrics were used, why they were used, and what weighting they gave each matters.

I was responding to his personal rankings. The gwac list is not an all encompassing list. I should have deleted the rest of the post to specify

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by JManc

Houston should be in that top ten list. It even made it up to Alpha - for a while.

Exactly. Without the energy and petrochemical industries, we and much of the world wouldn't live the lifestyles we do. People should research how the products they use come from the petrochemical industry.

[AviationGuy]

Originally Posted by Smuttynose1

The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a UK-based think tank that ranks cities into 'Alpha', 'Beta', and 'Gamma' tiers based on their international connectedness (or at least GaWC's measure of it). The ranking apparently focuses on accountancy, advertising, banking/finance, and law and relies heavily on city economics.

Last updated in 2000, the following US and Canadian cities rank in the Alpha and Beta categories:

Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states/regions and highly integrated into the world economy.

ALPHA ++
New York

ALPHA
Chicago
Los Angeles
Toronto, CAN

ALPHA -
Boston
Montreal, CAN
San Francisco

Beta level cities are cities that link moderate economic regions to the world economy.

BETA +
Atlanta
Dallas
Houston
Miami
Vancouver, CAN
Washington, DC

BETA
Denver
Philadelphia
Seattle

BETA -
Austin
Detroit
Minneapolis
San Diego
Tampa

Now what's your take on this? Specifically how would you rank the 10 Most Important Cities in the United States?

My list, in no particular order, would look something like this (with reasoning included)...

1. New York
2. Chicago
3. Los Angeles -- I don't think the 'Big 3' are particularly controversial and require a lot of reasoning

4. San Francisco -- Massive Tech Center, ground zero for gentrification/housing crisis, iconic landscapes and landmarks, historically associated with advent of hippy culture, LGBTQ rights, center for wealth and influential economic/philanthropic leaders, major finance center

5. Washington, DC -- Seat of US Federal Government, major center for politics and those working in public service, Think Tanks all over the place, major contributions to urban planning, one of best functioning US public transit systems, iconic landmarks and landscapes, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

6. Boston -- De Facto Capital of New England, Major tech/biotech center, huge university presence including Harvard & MIT, major medical sector, closely associated with US/Colonial & literary history, unique architecture & layout, well-known dialect/blue collar traditions, finance center, successful 'bounce back' city from darker decades

7. Atlanta -- De Facto Capital of the New South, large diversified booming economy, major film/music center, major growth center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of growth/development, major corporate center (CNN, Coca-Cola, AT&T, Delta, etc), significant cultural diversity, ginormous airport, major center for African American culture and history

8. Seattle -- Anchors the Pacific Northwest, Home/birthplace to many influential companies, i.e. Amazon, Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, etc., culturally significant, home of grunge music, stunning natural environment, major port, major green technologies/clean tech center, strong environmental justice movement

9. Dallas -- One of the capitals of Texas/Southwest (considering the growth/influence of Texas, this seems appropriate), largest fully land-locked metro area, diversified booming economy, emerging tech center, emblematic of Sunbelt patterns of development, emerging arts center, Old West/Cowboy Culture, significant cultural diversity, giant airport

10. Miami -- Major Hispanic/Latin American Center, major Port, tourism center, South Beach, largest metro in Florida/Southern US, close cultural/economic ties to Latin America

Very close to ranking:
Philadelphia -- Meds and Eds Center, Colonial History, major academic/higher ed center, population center, key part of Northeast megalopolis, largest city in swingiest of states / Hurt by its location so close to NYC/DC

Denver -- Anchors Intermountain West Region, major growth center, emerging technology-based economy, major outdoor recreation center, youthful/environmental justice-oriented population, large but isolated airport / Hurt by its smaller size

My list takes into account geographic context, which I don't think is really considered in the GaWC ranking.

I also thought about how this list would look if Canadian cities were incorporated. I couldn't settle on a Top 10 List, but a Top 12 List including Canadian cities would include Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver at the expense of Dallas.

Dallas- old west/cowboy culture? LOL Nuf said.

[fleonzo]

Originally Posted by isaidso

LINK: https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/g...orld2020t.html


In each grouping, Smuttynose1 ordered cities alphabetically but there's actually some variation within each group. For Canada/US cities, the study ranking is as follows:


ALPHA++
1. New York

ALPHA
2. Los Angeles
3. Toronto
4. Chicago

ALPHA-
5. San Francisco
6. Montreal
7. Boston


BETA+
8. Washington
9. Dallas
10. Miami
11. Houston
12. Atlanta
13. Vancouver

BETA
14. Denver
15. Philadelphia
16. Seattle

BETA-
17. Calgary
18. Tampa
19. Minneapolis
20. San Diego
21. Detroit
22. Austin

Thanks

[skysoar]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Chicago is not more important than Los Angeles and it's arguable that San Francisco is also more important than Chicago

I would just consider all the cities equally according to their groupings. Anything else is just conjecture or personal opinions. Otherwise, you have their listing of London being more important than New York City, which is highly debatable. Such is the case with Chicago and Los Angeles, it's in the eye of the beholder.

[craigs]

Originally Posted by skysoar

I would just consider all the cities equally according to their groupings. Anything else is just conjecture or personal opinions. Otherwise, you have their listing of London being more important than New York City, which is highly debatable. Such is the case with Chicago and Los Angeles, it's in the eye of the beholder.

The listed cities are all given a particular ranking by GaWC, though, and it's not alphabetical. And nowhere do they indicate that each city's position is interchangeable with every other of its rank.

It would be conjecture or personal opinion to insist the cities should be ranked differently than how GaWC ranked them, exactly--if we're supposed to go by GaWC criteria.

Now, their criteria is certainly open to scrutiny--as it always is whenever a GaWC thread comes up on the forum. I'm not sure what led to this most recent eruption--the list is from 2020. But it should be obviously true that claiming GaWC criteria is the same thing as "most important cities" is an opinion that GaWC did not measure and has not made.

[Marshal]

Vancouver is very globalized, BUT there is no reasoning that could have it above Seattle, and each in different categories. All of Seattle's giants are fully globally extended. It can't even be close.

[DCReid]

The ranking is from 2020, which is sort of the height of the recent tech bubble and tech was at least 25% of the US S&P index and the top 5 companies were all tech. I wonder if cities like Austin will remain as highly ranked now that the bubble has been deflated. Similarly, someone said Houston was once an Alpha city and that was probably when energy was 25% of the S&P index; now it is less than 5%, but I think the current Beta ranking is appropriate even with the rebound in energy. It will be interesting to see if London retains its highest ranking in 2030 or 2040 now that the UK has left the EU and some companies are leaving for the EU. It will probably remain Alpha but fall down a notch.

[TempleGuy1000]

GaWC has been discussed to death.
What about Schroders’ Global Cities Index released this week that doesn't have NYC ranked number 1 but actually behind SF and Boston.

https://www.schroders.com/en/global/...-cities-index/

Has San Fran passed NYC on the world's stage because of Tech and everything that comes along with it?

[Crawford]

That Schroeders ranking is even crazier. What is with the weird UK rankings systems?

San Jose is apparently more important than Paris and LA; Vancouver and Manchester are more important than Tokyo. Makes sense...

[isaidso]

Originally Posted by Marshal

Vancouver is very globalized, BUT there is no reasoning that could have it above Seattle, and each in different categories. All of Seattle's giants are fully globally extended. It can't even be close.

Well, Canadians are famously self deprecating. I'm not saying I agree/disagree with the rankings but I think you'd be surprised how high Vancouver's profile is around the world; especially in Asia/Oceania. To a significant degree, it's the face of Canada in that region of the world. In some respects, it's Canada's LA, SF, and Seattle all rolled up into one. Over many decades, Vancouver has created strong bonds across the Pacific. Their huge Asian population helped spawn it and continues to grow due to those relationships.

It bears repeating, GaWC isn't a ranking of population or economic size. They are just 2 of many metrics yet people seem to zero in these things to the exclusion of the other metrics considered. And people invariably think studies measure things they were never intended to measure. It's a globalization ranking based on metrics this particular study deemed important. Nothing more, nothing less.

[TempleGuy1000]

Originally Posted by Crawford

That Schroeders ranking is even crazier. What is with the weird UK rankings systems?

San Jose is apparently more important than Paris and LA; Vancouver and Manchester are more important than Tokyo. Makes sense...

Haha I agree. I think that one puts a major premium on research and R&D investments. Which from an 'innovation' stand-point, I can see it. But frankly, as boring as it is, measuring the GDPs of metro areas still probably is more of a real look into who holds the keys to power.

Like I just can't rationalize GaWC ranking Denver and Philly the same in importance. There's a case to be made that Vanguard alone is the singularly most powerful company in America because it dictates public policy and big business more than any other company. Add in companies like Comcast and the pharmaceuticals whose logos shine on top of most US cities skylines, I just don't see it. What Denver company has large offices in every city?