Implication for cities of the liberalizing national economies in twenty-first century

For cities, the liberalization of national economies and the creation of a global economy have profound and far-reaching implications: global capitalist restructuring has been a key force in reshaping cities during the late1980s, 1990s and 2000s; it has demanded the production and use of new information technologies and in doing so, has forged new relationships among new technologies and new spatial forms and processes in cities. Technological innovation and territorial restructuring have also deeply modified cities’ emerging socio-economic systems. At the centre of change are the three major global cities – New York, Tokyo and London (Sassen, 1993). Other cities that have been affected by the liberalization and creation of a global economy are found mainly in newly industrializing Asian countries such as Seoul, Singapore and Hong Kong. Bombay, Mexico City and cities in South America are among countries in the developing world that have experienced some change in their economies in response to changing world conditions, but are still constrained by protectionist policies. Among these changes, therefore, this study will focus on structural change occurring in cities in the developed countries, particularly New York, London and Tokyo.