Below is a list of the 44 cities found in the 2018 Global Power City Index by the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies.
The index ranks the major cities of the world according to their "magnetism", which they generally define as a city's ability to attract people, capital, and businesses from around the world.
As with all rankings, the output depends entirely on the methodology that you use. The GPCI seems to have the right executive committee in place. It includes global city authorities like Saskia Sassen. But that's not really the point of today's post.
Beside each city, I have added the average highs and lows (in celsius) for both the coldest and hottest months of the year. For cities in the northern hemisphere, these are typically January and July/August, respectively.
I have also added the spread between the hottest and coldest months to get a sense of variability. I always find it interesting to see how cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Mumbai basically stay the same temperature all year round.
When you look at this list, remember that you can ski in Dubai.
All weather data taken from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
“The concentration of economic growth and prosperity in large metro areas defines the modern global economy, creating both opportunities and challenges in an era in which national political, economic, and societal trends are increasingly influenced by subnational dynamics.” -Brookings Institute
The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute has a new report out for 2018 called the Global Metro Monitor.
Here are some of the highlights (data is from 2014 to 2016):
- The 300 largest metro areas in the world accounted for 36% of employment growth and 67% of GDP growth.
- Metro areas in China and the Asia-Pacific region outperformed, whereas Latin American cities, and in particular the largest Brazilian cities, were weaker performers.
- The majority of large metro areas had growth rates that exceeded that of their respective regions. So again, cities are the driver.
And here is an interesting interactive chart (better to click through) that shows the % change in GDP per capita.
Look at how much of an outlier San Jose is. Though, check out Dublin in the footnote. And if you look at the actual data table, it is all China, except for Dublin at the top.
For the rest of the charts, click here. And to download the full Global Metro Monitor report, click here.
Last week, Joe Berridge, Partner at Urban Strategies, gave a presentation at the Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance titled, Toronto: The Accidental Metropolis. I’ve seen Joe give similar presentations to this one before, and I always thoroughly enjoy his focus on Toronto’s position as a global city.
Here is a slide from the presentation that projects out Toronto’s population to 2071 and compares it to the largest cities in the US.
Below is a list of the 44 cities found in the 2018 Global Power City Index by the Mori Memorial Foundation's Institute for Urban Strategies.
The index ranks the major cities of the world according to their "magnetism", which they generally define as a city's ability to attract people, capital, and businesses from around the world.
As with all rankings, the output depends entirely on the methodology that you use. The GPCI seems to have the right executive committee in place. It includes global city authorities like Saskia Sassen. But that's not really the point of today's post.
Beside each city, I have added the average highs and lows (in celsius) for both the coldest and hottest months of the year. For cities in the northern hemisphere, these are typically January and July/August, respectively.
I have also added the spread between the hottest and coldest months to get a sense of variability. I always find it interesting to see how cities like Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, and Mumbai basically stay the same temperature all year round.
When you look at this list, remember that you can ski in Dubai.
All weather data taken from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
“The concentration of economic growth and prosperity in large metro areas defines the modern global economy, creating both opportunities and challenges in an era in which national political, economic, and societal trends are increasingly influenced by subnational dynamics.” -Brookings Institute
The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institute has a new report out for 2018 called the Global Metro Monitor.
Here are some of the highlights (data is from 2014 to 2016):
- The 300 largest metro areas in the world accounted for 36% of employment growth and 67% of GDP growth.
- Metro areas in China and the Asia-Pacific region outperformed, whereas Latin American cities, and in particular the largest Brazilian cities, were weaker performers.
- The majority of large metro areas had growth rates that exceeded that of their respective regions. So again, cities are the driver.
And here is an interesting interactive chart (better to click through) that shows the % change in GDP per capita.
Look at how much of an outlier San Jose is. Though, check out Dublin in the footnote. And if you look at the actual data table, it is all China, except for Dublin at the top.
For the rest of the charts, click here. And to download the full Global Metro Monitor report, click here.
Last week, Joe Berridge, Partner at Urban Strategies, gave a presentation at the Institute on Municipal Finance & Governance titled, Toronto: The Accidental Metropolis. I’ve seen Joe give similar presentations to this one before, and I always thoroughly enjoy his focus on Toronto’s position as a global city.
Here is a slide from the presentation that projects out Toronto’s population to 2071 and compares it to the largest cities in the US.
But the two slides that have been really making the rounds online are the following ones. The first is a rendering of what downtown Toronto looked like in 2000.
I remember this time clearly. Queen West seemed to end at Spadina. King West and Ossington weren’t things. And “Richmond and Adelaide” felt like the greatest club district in the world. (If you’re not from Toronto, these references will likely mean nothing to you. Sorry.)
The second slide is a rendering of what Toronto will look like in 2025. The transformation is just incredible.
I’ve seen some people comment that the Toronto of 2000 was relatively affordable; the Toronto of 2018 is unaffordable; and the Toronto of 2025 will be even more unaffordable with all of this new development.
But I don’t understand that logic. Considering the growth rate shown in the first slide, imagine how unaffordable this city would be if we weren’t building new places for people to live and new places for people to work.
For the full slide deck, go here. And for recent aerial photos of Toronto’s downtown core, check out my Instagram page.
But the two slides that have been really making the rounds online are the following ones. The first is a rendering of what downtown Toronto looked like in 2000.
I remember this time clearly. Queen West seemed to end at Spadina. King West and Ossington weren’t things. And “Richmond and Adelaide” felt like the greatest club district in the world. (If you’re not from Toronto, these references will likely mean nothing to you. Sorry.)
The second slide is a rendering of what Toronto will look like in 2025. The transformation is just incredible.
I’ve seen some people comment that the Toronto of 2000 was relatively affordable; the Toronto of 2018 is unaffordable; and the Toronto of 2025 will be even more unaffordable with all of this new development.
But I don’t understand that logic. Considering the growth rate shown in the first slide, imagine how unaffordable this city would be if we weren’t building new places for people to live and new places for people to work.
For the full slide deck, go here. And for recent aerial photos of Toronto’s downtown core, check out my Instagram page.
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