Feature
May 3, 2010
Making a City Global
On the heels of the second installment of The Harris School’s Urban Policy Initiative speaker series, award-winning journalist Julie Sell explored the differences between massive urban migration happening around the world and the few cities that have distinguished themselves as global hubs.
“The reality is that big is happening,” she said at the April 20 lecture, urging students to consider both the economic opportunities that follow urbanization and the challenges that arise from sudden population density.
But despite the number of growing cities and the fact that more than half the world now lives in urban areas for the first time in history, only a handful have become global like London, Paris, Tokyo, or New York, she said.
“People want to be where the money is,” Sell said, pointing to the importance of developing key global industries and a financial sector that attracts international business. A stable rule of law and a reputation for government transparency, which encourage international investment, are equally important. China’s authoritarian policies, for example, have kept some of its growing cities from crossing the global threshold, she explained.
“You need to create a world-class environment that is comfortable to live and work in,” she said. “That’s where policymakers have a lot of control.”
Sell has seen her fair share of the world. For more than two decades, she has worked for leading news organizations including The Economist in London, The Asian Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong, and the International Herald Tribune in Paris. She has lived on three continents and worked in more than 30 countries writing about politics, public policy, and social and business issues.
Throughout her travels, Sell has seen many countries try to accommodate increasing urbanization and reach global status without a budget and sound planning. The result is disheartening: slums form, crime and corruption spikes, infrastructure buckles, and pollution threatens the health and safety of citizens—all of which drives away international business and tourism.
In her lecture, Sell pointed to Saudi Arabia, which is currently building cities from scratch with the environmental and infrastructural foresight for future expansion. Not all countries have the luxury to start over, let alone the money to do so, she admits. Still, she said thinking through these problems before they escalate needs to be a crucial element of future urban policy.
“Rather than wait until your city has exploded in size, learn from history and get a jump on it,” she advised. “It’s easier to do that than play catch up.”
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