Four Levels of Business Services
Business services cluster more in larger settlements than in smaller ones. There are four levels of business services and it is important to distinguish between them.
World Cities: Historically, world cities were the center of global business services primarily due to physical location, but would get strengthened due to transportation, communication, and technological innovations. Soon after the Industrial Revolution, these transportation and communication networks would further solidify the status of these cities on the global level. Waterways, railways, and roadways would converge on these cities making them more dominant than others. Due to their importance, these cities also would become the center for global financing and economies. Also due to their size, consumer services would increase dramatically and thus increase their market area. Because world cities are more dominant in North America and Europe along with history in dealing between each other, there are more links of business between the two continents. World cities are further grouped into three tiers.
Command and Control Centers: These cities have a large amount of headquarters of financial institutions and major world corporations. They also have many tertiary industries including important or leading institutions of education and healthcare. The two levels of these cities are regional and sub-regional centers. Examples in the US of command and control centers would be Philadelphia, Dallas, Richmond, Atlanta, Boston, and Indianapolis.
Specialized Producer-Service Centers: These cities have very specific and specialized services that have separated them from other cities. For example, these cities would be Detroit (automobile, Pittsburgh (steel), and San Jose (technology).
Dependent Centers: These cities are dependent on the decisions made by the larger cities in these groups. They typically have an economy based on specific industries, either primary, secondary, or tertiary. The four types are Military (ex. Norfolk, VA), Manufacturing (ex. Erie, PA), Mining (ex. Charleston, WV), and Resort/Retirement (ex. Fort Lauderdale, FL).
World Cities: Historically, world cities were the center of global business services primarily due to physical location, but would get strengthened due to transportation, communication, and technological innovations. Soon after the Industrial Revolution, these transportation and communication networks would further solidify the status of these cities on the global level. Waterways, railways, and roadways would converge on these cities making them more dominant than others. Due to their importance, these cities also would become the center for global financing and economies. Also due to their size, consumer services would increase dramatically and thus increase their market area. Because world cities are more dominant in North America and Europe along with history in dealing between each other, there are more links of business between the two continents. World cities are further grouped into three tiers.
1. Dominant: New York City (North America), London (Europe), and Tokyo (Asia), are the three dominant cities in the world as they have the largest financial services offered, including stock exchanges.
2. Major: Chicago, LA, Washington D.C. (North America), Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Brussels (Europe), Singapore (Asia), and Sao Paulo (South America) make up the nine cities in the second tier. Many financial institutions and global corporations make their headquarters in these cities.
3. Secondary: There are 22 secondary world cities. Four are in North America (Houston, San Francisco, and Miami in the United States), seven in Asia, five in Europe, four in Central/South America, one in Africa, and one in Oceania. Oceania has the fewest world cities compared to the other continents.
2. Major: Chicago, LA, Washington D.C. (North America), Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Brussels (Europe), Singapore (Asia), and Sao Paulo (South America) make up the nine cities in the second tier. Many financial institutions and global corporations make their headquarters in these cities.
3. Secondary: There are 22 secondary world cities. Four are in North America (Houston, San Francisco, and Miami in the United States), seven in Asia, five in Europe, four in Central/South America, one in Africa, and one in Oceania. Oceania has the fewest world cities compared to the other continents.
Command and Control Centers: These cities have a large amount of headquarters of financial institutions and major world corporations. They also have many tertiary industries including important or leading institutions of education and healthcare. The two levels of these cities are regional and sub-regional centers. Examples in the US of command and control centers would be Philadelphia, Dallas, Richmond, Atlanta, Boston, and Indianapolis.
Specialized Producer-Service Centers: These cities have very specific and specialized services that have separated them from other cities. For example, these cities would be Detroit (automobile, Pittsburgh (steel), and San Jose (technology).
Dependent Centers: These cities are dependent on the decisions made by the larger cities in these groups. They typically have an economy based on specific industries, either primary, secondary, or tertiary. The four types are Military (ex. Norfolk, VA), Manufacturing (ex. Erie, PA), Mining (ex. Charleston, WV), and Resort/Retirement (ex. Fort Lauderdale, FL).
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