Work

Rising South, shrinking North: Paradoxically increased unevenness in the global urban economic system

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The urban economy, a more definitive indicator of city size than merely the urban population, encompasses both the population and per capita gross domestic product (GDP). This study employs nighttime light imagery to identify the scopes of 11,946 cities worldwide. For the first time, it evaluates the trend of evenness in the global urban economic system (UES) over the past three decades. The finding reveals an increased unevenness in the global UES, with the top 20% of cities accounting for approximately 80% of the global GDP. Moreover, there is a significant regional disparity in the city rank changes within the global UES. In Asia , many cities have significantly raised their ranks, while most cities in Europe and North America show the opposite trend. Among developing countries globally, the number of cities in the top 20% grew at a rate of 30.29%, while the number of cities in the top 20% of developed countries declined by 23.75%. Despite the significant economic growth of some developing cities (mainly in Africa and Asia), it has not mitigated the trend of increasing unevenness in the global UES.

Source: Habitat International

DOI: 10.1016/j.habitatint.2024.103254

Authors: Zhenyu Huang, Minghong Tan, Xue Yang, Xue Wang, Liangjie Xin

Institutions: Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nankai University

Language: English

Topic: Global Urban Networks and Dynamics

Subfield: Urban Studies

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Reduced inequalities, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,560