Globalization and Urban Space: Cities, Inequality, Environment

1. La globalización and urban space

Since the late twentieth century, the globalized economy has encouraged the emergence of global cities. Global cities concentrate the headquarters of major banks, stock exchanges, etc. Production and trade centers are linked to international markets. To adapt to new global functions, large cities have experienced dramatic transformations in transport infrastructure, telecommunications networks, and other systems, with the consequent rise in land prices.

2. Territorial and social inequalities

The phenomenon of globalization privileges some cities over others, and within the same city it also favors some areas over others. People with higher incomes seek luxury residential areas. In the less privileged parts of developing countries' cities, informal settlements (slums) emerge. City centers also experience changes: sometimes historic areas are revitalized, and in other cases there are central areas that are degraded by lack of investment.

3. The diffuse city

In metropolitan areas, the boundary between city and countryside is not a clearly defined line. Urban development extends into the countryside and produces mixed areas where urban and rural activities coexist. These dynamic and changing areas are variously called diffuse, peri-urban, or rural–urban fringe. The widespread growth of the city is largely driven by the high price of land in major cities.

Item 13

4. The new spaces in metropolitan areas

The city has organized a diffuse redistribution of space. Economic activities have created new land uses for the installation of technology parks and large shopping centers.

5. Environmental problems

Societies transform natural urban spaces and create a humanized landscape. Major environmental impacts include deforestation and the loss of greenery. The availability of drinking water is a problem for many cities worldwide. Other impacts include water pollution, air pollution, noise pollution, and the large accumulation of solid waste. The modern city is also characterized by high energy consumption.

Item 14. Migratory phenomena

1. Migration today

Every day thousands of people leave their homelands to begin a journey with the aim of improving their living conditions. There are different groups of migrant populations:

• By training: skilled (educated people) and unskilled (people with little or no formal education).
• By legal/employment status: legalized (with papers), refugees, and undocumented (illegal immigrants).
• By scope of displacement: national (internal) and international. Causes of these shifts may be economic, political, environmental, and sociocultural.