World cities or great cities? A comparative study of five Asian metropolises

Few researchers have studied world cities from the perspective of sustainable development. This paper argues that in this era of globalization cities should aspire to be great cities, rather than just world cities. Great cities are places with an enlightened mode of governance; where technological and economic advancement sustain global and local development, thereby enriching socio-economic, human, cultural and environmental capital. Informed by this conceptual framework, and with the help of experts and participants in two public fora, a set of indicators was developed for benchmarking cities of the world. This study compares and contrasts five globalizing metropolises in Asia: Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taipei and Shanghai. It is found that through progressive globalization, these cities have accumulated considerable economic wealth to build world class infrastructure. However, their ability to address sustainability concerns such as developing an enlightened mode of governance to nourish social and environmental capital remains diverse and less certain. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.