Cities such as New York, Tokyo and London are the centres of transnational corporate headquarters, of international finance, transnational institutions, and telecommunications. They are the dominant loci in the contemporary world economy, and the influence of a relatively small number of cities within world affairs has been a feature of the shift from an international to a more global economy which took place during the 1970s and 1980s. This book brings together the leading researchers in the field to write seventeen original essays which cover both the theoretical and practical issues involved. They examine the nature of world cities, and their demands as special places in need of specific urban policies; the relationship between world cities within global networks of economic flows; and the relationship between world city research and world-systems analysis and other theoretical frameworks.

"The accessibility of the text and the compactness of the chapters make it a useful and lively textbook for graduate students in urban studies and planning as well as in courses that focus on the global dimensions of geography, political economy and sociology....World Cities in a World System makes available an important set of readings for planners and students of planning who are interested in the future shape of the public sector and the public's participation in setting urban agendas." Gerald Sussman, JAPA Journal

"This highly recommended book offers a challenging research agenda to those interested in overcoming these boundaries and advancing this important debate." Susan Clarke, American Political Science Review