London's Economy

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King (1990, page x) argues that the dissolution of empire has been

critical to the growth of world cities. How far does this apply to

London?

Modern patterns of development and growth have been shaped and

influenced by the historical context of colonialism. Within this

context relationships between capitalist and pre-capitalist states or

colonies helped forge a world economy, which would later lead to

processes of globalisation and the current economic world order.

Expansion in the world economy has been exacerbated by the freer flow

of labour, goods, services and capital, which are features of the

post-war, post-colonial world. King contends that these factors have

been "critical to the growth of world cities." (King, 1990: x)

Urbanisation in many post-colonial states has been rapid, supported by

trade with a greater number of nations compared with that of the

colonial period. Indeed, many colonial nations have now followed their

own paths of industrialisation, instead of relying primarily on their

export of natural resources such as timber; their economies are

becoming more diverse and are now linked within a global network of

trade and commerce that is enabling them to develop significantly.

Existing at the heart of these states are primary cities, the

administrative and economic centres for their new global roles.

World cities can be defined by their size, population and area; they

are usually the economic hub of the country in which they are seats of

power and dominate in the cultural arena with their iconic

architectural distinctiveness and the importance of their historical

roles. "World cities lie at the junction between the world economy and

the territorial national state." (Friedmann and Wol...

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...c function as a

global centre for banking and financial trading, which increasingly

determine its international role and its patterns of modern growth.

Bibliography.

Coupland, Andy: 'Every Job an Office Job.' And 'Docklands: Dream or

Disaster?' In Thornley, Andy (ed) (1992) 'The Crisis of London.'

Routledge.

Friedmann, J and Wolff, G. (1982) 'WorldCityformation: an agenda for

research and action.', International Journal of Urban and Regional

Research: 6.

Hall, P (1977 2nd edition) 'The World Cities.' Weidenfield and

Nicholson, London. Ch 2.

King, AD (1990) 'Global Cities: Post-Imperialism and the

Internationalization of London.' Routledge.

Porter, Roy (1994) 'London: A Social History.' Penguin, London.

Shappard, Francis (1998) 'London: A History.' Oxford University Press,

Oxford.

Wells, H.G. (1908) 'Tono-Bungay.' London: Oldhams Press.

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