Go through this list (I picked Philadelphia) of global cities prepared by the Global and World Cities Network at Loughborough University and familiarize yourself with the rankings criteria. Pick a city you are interested in writing your city profile on. You should plan to stick with this city when you write your final paper, unless you get permission from the professor to change it.
Check Business Insights to see what the biggest corporations in your chosen city do. Find out if your city ranks on the Kearney Global Cities Index
Many scholars disagree with the narrow terms on which the GaWC network and Kearney have ranked these cities. Investigate their criteria for ranking cities, and begin thinking about and what other aspects of your chosen city might also be relevant to thinking about how “global” it is: its history, its demographics, its position within the global economy, its levels of inequality and informality.
Write a 5-7 page report making a case for whether your chosen city does or does not deserve its ranking on the GaWC list. Profile your city by presenting evidence on the following broader criteria: its economic base and how “globalized” its economy seems to be; its demographic & cultural characteristics; levels of poverty, informality, and migration; political significance; the city’s history & projected future; and anything else you think is important in making a city “global.”
Your paper needs to make an argument. It is not merely a description of your chosen city.
Begin the report with an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis statement, such as a sentence like “In this paper I argue that…”. The paper needs a conclusion as well that reiterates your own argument in light of the evidence you have presented.
The paper should be double-spaced, in 12-point font, with one-inch margins.
You should use AT LEAST 7 HIGH QUALITY SOURCES. This must include at least 3 peer-reviewed academic journal articles as well as academic books, high-quality newspapers (eg NY Times, The Economist, The Guardian), and reputable online & print reference sources (World Bank, UNDP, etc.—NOT WIKIPEDIA). Use the databases that are discussed in the tutorial.
These sources need to be PROPERLY REFERENCED in the APA style (internal citation and a reference list—no footnotes). Remember to provide a source for every claim you make. Refer back to the tutorial for help with citing your sources.
LINKS
GaWC list – https://www.lboro.ac.uk/microsites/geography/gawc/world2020t.html
Business Insights – https://www.gale.com/c/business-insights
Kearny Index – https://www.kearney.com/service/global-business-policy-council/gcr
(EBSCO host, Proquest, etc. to find some databases)
