h.v. savitch brown & williamson distinguished research professor centre for urban and community...
TRANSCRIPT
H.V. SAVITCHBROWN & WILLIAMSON DISTINGUISHED
RESEARCH PROFESSOR
CENTRE FOR URBAN AND COMMUNITY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
April 30, 2013
“WHAT MAKES A GREAT CITY GREAT? PUTTING TORONTO IN
PERSPECTIVE
Searching for Greatness
DEFINITIONS
A person, place or thing that stands out above all others in significant respects
Having majesty and prominence over particular domainsExtraordinary and distinguished in particular waysMore controversially, conveying an “elitist” or “superior”
quality
IDENTIFYING GREAT CITIES
General Characteristics Uniqueness Marginality (re conventional patterns) Spontaneity Flux , slack, uncertainty
Mainly the presence of conditions An environment rather than a creation Cultivated rather than planned
Athens (5th century BCE)• Naval
fleet/knowledge/values/philosophy/”democracy”
Rome (3rd century CE)• Military conquest, imperial
governance, Latin as lingua franca, public works, architecture, roads
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Florence (14th-16th centuries CE)• Painting, sculpture, scientific design
Amsterdam (17th century CE)• Shipping, ports, international trade,
colonialism
Athens
Amsterdam
London (19th early 20th century)
• Manufacture, finance, international trade, empire
Apologies to Jerusalem, 1 CE as religious birthplace, Paris, 1890s for its art and architecture, Berlin, 1920s for its theater, and others
HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Jerusalem
Currency, Cosmopolitan, Concentration and Charisma• Currency: cutting edge of the times, set values of the times (two
senses)• Cosmopolitanism: global, international, poly-ethnic or multi-cultural
features (connectivity to a larger world)• Concentration: demographic density, productive mass, centeredness,
continuous development, mixed and accessible land uses• Charisma: magnetic appeal; magical qualities capable of generating
enthusiasm, admiration or allegiance
THE 4Cs OF GREATNESS
The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
Currency• NYC’s dominant economy (Wall Street diversified by advertising,
law, tourism, hotels, theater, fashion, arts)• LA’s media economy (film/TV production; diversified by high
tech, light manufacture and retail)• SF’s balanced economy (“Wall Street of the West” diversified by
high/bio tech, health, trade and tourism)• Chicago’s transitioned economy ( diversified by transportation,
distribution, corporate headquarters)
Cosmopolitanism• NYC as world’s immigrant city; waves of Dutch, Irish, Italian, Jewish,
Slav, Black, Puerto Rican immigration (ethnic neighborhoods (Moynihan’s & Glazer’s, Beyond the Melting Pot) United Nations, foreign consulates
• LA’s influx from rest of nation plus Mexican; Persian settled in low density, heterogeneous neighborhoods
• SF’s early foreign stock (Italy, Germany, Ireland and Russia) succeed by leftist, youth, Gay & “trendy” influx
• Chicago’s little bit of everything; Lakefront (“patricians”) Bridgeport (Irish ) Near West Side (Greek, Italian) North Side (“yuppie”) and South Side(African American)—convergence at “The Loop”
The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
Concentration•NYC’s highest density of 24,000 per sq. mi. (Manhattan @ 70,000) matched by a noted epicenter (Times Square) high subway ridership (1.4 million) & mixed land uses.
•SF’s high density of 16,000 per sq. mi. matched by strong centers & public transit high commuters (120,000) & lightly diversified city.
The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
San Francisco
New York City
Concentration• Chicago’s density of 12,700
per sq mi. fed by 100,000 commuters; portrayed via “concentric zone” theory
• LA’s lower/extended densities of 8000 per sq. mi.; much lower public transit of just 6,000 commuters spreads, segregated uses through area; portrayed via “post modernism”
The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
Chicago
Los Angeles
Charisma• NYC’s “The Big Apple, unique cultural mix (Broadway, Little Italy,
Harlem, West Village); “make it there, make it anywhere• Chicago as the “second city” that is not NYC; (Lakefront, “Golden
Mile”, Wrigley Field); “town that won’t let you down”• San Francisco as America’s picturesque city (Victorian, Ghiardelli
Square, Golden Gate Bridge, “deviance” as civility; “city on the Bay”• Los Angeles, despite critiques (short on character) has its
devotees, free wheeling and open environment; lack of a renowned sobriquet
The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco
New York, NY
Chicago, IL San Francisco,
CA
Los Angeles, CA
CURRENCY
GMP (US$Billion) 1,166.40 498.6 292.6 687.2
Employment total 3,720,248 1 242 375 418 914 1,766,442
Fortune 500 Company 45 11 6 4
Percapita income 26,975 24 084 40 533 24,380
Top High-Tech Cities 0.9 0.9 1.8 1.6
US Patent Grants 1,704 2 929 1 700 2,348
COSMOPOLITANISM
Immigrants 3,028,148 594,841 270,481 1,509,764
Foreign Tourists 6,932,500 1,104,500 2,131,500 2,583,000
Airline Passengers – Int’l 20,990,874 7,760,843 8,129,389 16,302,296
Embassy & Foreign Consular Offices 129 43 44 27
Global Network Connectivity 61,895 39,025 32,178 38,009
Table 1
Table 1 Cont’d
New York, NY Chicago, IL San Fransisco,
CA
Los Angeles,
CA
CONCENTRATION
Central City Density (per sq. mile) 26,403 12,750 16,634 7,877
Size of Downtown (sq. mile) 7.82 3.36 2.34 1.25
Central City Population Proportion Downtown 2.00% 2.60% 5.70% 1%
Population Density Gradient -7.30% -2.40% -5.30% -2.60%
CBD Share of Urban Area Employment 20.10% 14.30% 12.20% 2.50%
% Commuting to Work Via Public Transportation 54.56% 25.90% 32.20% 11.00%
CHARISMA
Google Hits (millions) 1,100 447 315 361
Bohemian Index ranking 3 20 8 2
Amenity Richness 12.26 8.46 6.29 6.88
Internet Movie Database Titles 3,249 467 563 1,010
Top 10 Most Desirable Cities 21% 13% 13% 40%
Currency: NY tops /SF high pci/LA gmp/Chicago’s balance
Cosmopolitanism: NY predominates followed by LA, Chicago and SF
Concentration: NY, highest density, sharpest density gradient plus high public transit, next by SF & Chicago: LA lower density (spread city)
Charisma: NY leads (most counts) LA high (movies/desirable) and SF (Bohemian and amenities) and Chicago (Google,Bohemian)
COMPARING BY NUMBERS
All told: 22 measures/ 88 observations our four cities w/I top fifth 72 % of time (exchge. Boston, Seattle, Washington, DC /not Houston, Phoenix, SD)
COMPARING BY NUMBERS
• LA as exception (post modernism, DEAD) proves rule
• Chicago’s transformation & niche as “second best”
New York, NY
Chicago, IL
San Francisco
, CA
Los Angeles,
CA
Toronto, Ontario
CURRENCY
GMP (US$ Billion) 1,277.228 (2011)
547.609 (2011)
347.107 (2011)
747.306 (2011) 323 (2011)
Employment total 4,154,195 (2010)
1,416,205 (2010)
484,137 (2010)
1,996,750 (2010)
1,298,731 (2007)
Fortune 500 Company 36 (2012) 6 (2012) 7 (2012) 5 (2012) 7 (2012)
Per capita income 26,975 24 084 40 533 24,380 38,100
Top High-Tech Cities 0.9 0.9 1.8 1.6 1.1
US Patent Grants 1,704 2 929 1 700 2,348 1,530
COSMOPOLITANISM
Immigrants 2,989,825 (2010)
568,495 (2010)
284,280 (2010)
1,491,658 (2010)
1,237,720 (2006)
Foreign Tourists 6,932,500 1,104,500 2,131,500 2,583,000 3,190,000
Airline Passengers – Int’l 20,990,874 7,760,843 8,129,389 16,302,296 19,207,008
Embassy & Foreign Consular Offices 129 43 44 27 12
Globalization and World City Rank
Alpha++ Alpha+ Alpha Alpha Alpha
Global Network Connectivity 61,895 39,025 32,178 38,009 37,680
Table 1 (with Toronto)
Table 1 Cont’dNew York,
NYChicago,
ILSan
Francisco, CA
Los Angeles,
CA
Toronto, Ontario
CONCENTRATION
Central City Population 8,175,133 (2010)
2,695,598 (2010)
805,235 (2010)
3,792,621 (2010)
2,615,060 (2011)
Metropolitan Area Population 19,567,410 (2010)
9,461,105 (2010)
4,335,391 (2010)
12,828,837 (2010)
5,583,064 (2011)
Central City Density (per sq. mile) 26,403 12,750 16,634 7,877 10,750
Size of Downtown (sq. mile)7.82 3.36 2.34 1.25 6.94
Central City Population Proportion Downtown 2.00% 2.60% 5.70% 1% 7%
Population Density Gradient -7.30% -2.40% -5.30% -2.60% -3.65%
CBD Share of Urban Area Empl. 20.10% 14.30% 12.20% 2.50% 31.61%
% Commuting to Work Via Public Transportation 54.56% 25.90% 32.20% 11.00% 22.21%
CHARISMA
Google Hits (millions) 1,100 447 315 361 246
Bohemian Index 1.935 1.22 1.407 2.008 1.561
Amenity Richness 12.26 8.46 6.29 6.88 N/A
Internet Movie Database Titles 3,249 467 563 1,010 200
Top 10 Most Desirable Cities 21% 13% 13% 40% N/A