Global Metropolis:
The Role of Cities andMetropolitan Areas in the
Global Economy
Working Paper Series:
Martin Prosperity ResearchPrepared by:Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander, and Tim Gulden
March 2009
REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Global Metropolis:
The Role of Cities and Metropolitan Areas in the Global Economy

By
Richard Florida, Charlotta Mellander, and Tim Gulden
Contact: Charlotta.Mellander@ihh.hj.se

March 2009

Florida is Director of the Prosperity Institute in the Rotman School of Management,
University of Toronto, florida@rotman.utoronto.ca. Mellander is Research Director of
the Prosperity Institute of Scandinavia, Jönköping International Business
School, charlotta.mellander@ihh.hj.se. Gulden is a member of the Research Faculty at
the Center for Social Complexity in the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at George
Mason University, tgulden@gmu.edu. Patrick Adler provided research assistance.

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Introduction
The past year marked a turning point in world history. It was the year the world
became urban. The share of the world’s population living in urban areas increased fromjust 3 percent in 1800 to 14 percent in 1900. By 1950, it had reached 30 percent. Today,
this number stands at more than half. In the advanced countries, three-quarters ofpeople live in urban areas (UNFPA, 2007). Noting this momentous shift, The Economist
put it this way: “Whether you think the human story begins in a garden in Mesopotamia
known as Eden, or more prosaically on the savannahs of present-day east Africa, it isclear that Homo sapiens did not start life as an urban creature. Man’s habitat at theoutset was dominated by the need to find food, and hunting and foraging were rural
pursuits.” But today the story concludes, “Wisely or not, Homo sapiens has become
Homo urbanus”. According to the United Nations, more than two-thirds of the world’s
population (4.4 billion people) will be urbanites by the year 2030 (UNFPA, 2007).
While this general process and pattern of urbanization is well known, we know agreat deal less about the global level of economic activity produced by cities andmetropolitan areas. The simple reason for this is that we lack the required statisticalinformation. While we have a plethora of data and information on economic output by
country, there is a noticeable absence of systematic and comparable data on cities andmetropolitan areas. There is one group or agency that collects the necessary data.
The past several years have seen numerous, very useful and important attempts, todevelop data and to better understand the economic role of cities and metropolitan areasin the global economy. Researchers like Saskia Sassen, Peter Taylor, Robert Lang andothers have developed new and innovative ways to track and benchmark global cities andtheir surrounding metropolitan areas (Sassen, 1991, 2006, 2008; Taylor, 2003, 2005;
Lang and Dhavale, 2005). Mercer Consulting publishes annual reports on the cost andquality of life in a sample of global cities (Mercer Consuling, 2007). MasterCard recently

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

produced a major report, drawing from the work of leading scholars on economic
activity in global cities (Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index). A landmark study by
the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, (Pengfei and Kresl, 2008 compiled data from awide range of sources to produce detailed rankings of urban competitiveness for 500
cities worldwide.
Our research seeks to provide new insight in to the economic role of cities andmetropolitan areas in the world economy. It summarizes new data, derived fromsatellite images of the world at night, to provide systematic estimates of the economic
activity generated by cities and metropolitan areas worldwide.
We begin with a short summary of our methodology for using the satellite images todevelop economic estimates. We provide a detailed accounting of the role ofmetropolitan areas in the global economy overall, before turning to a more detailed
looked at their role in the world’s major economic areas – North American, Europe, Asia,
the newly industrializing countries and the developing world. The last section
summarizes the overall, very significant contribution of cities and metropolitan areas to
the global economy.

Data and Methods
We use a novel method to develop systematic data on global cities and metropolitan
areas. We calculate economic activity for these locations based on satellite images of theentire globe. We define a metropolitan area as a core city and its surrounding hinterland
as contiguously (or very nearly contiguously) lighted areas, as seen from space at night.
Lang and Dhavale (2005) and the Regional Planning Association (2006) have used much
more complex methods, including measures of commuting patterns, etc. We find thatwhile these factors are critically important for understanding the functioning of a
metropolitan area, contiguous development is a good enough proxy for economic

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

integration that it can meaningfully be used in this context. While our method does notaccount for many of the cultural and political factors as well as network connectivity that
inform and shape metropolitan regions, its strength lies in the application of a systematic
criteria for identifying the economic activity of cities and regions across the globe.
We begin with light emission data for the year 2000 (Doll, Muller, & Elvidge,2000). The base data are from the Earth Observation Program of NOAA’s National
Geophysical Data Center. This data provides a measure of light intensity for each 30 arc
second cell between -65° and 65° latitude. These cells cover approximately 1km2 at theequator and become somewhat smaller at higher and lower latitudes. 1
We then set a light threshold that captures the essence of the U.S. metro areas.
After we determine the threshold that gives the best approximation of the established
U.S. metropolitan areas, we apply this same threshold to the nighttime lights dataset for
the rest of the world. We close small gaps, merging light areas that are separated by lessthan 2 kilometers.
We calibrate the model by using detailed published data for Gross Regional
Product (GRP) for 363 U.S. metropolitan areas prepared for the US Conference ofMayors (USCOM) (Global Insight, 2006). This calibration also yields an objective
measure of the precision of this process – we are able to reproduce the GRP estimates
1 While the data capture low light levels that are consistent with low-density suburban

and electrified semi-rural areas, the measured emission level saturates far from the mosteconomically intense center of a major city due to the design of the sensors and the processing
algorithms used by NGDC. The fall-off in brightness gradient as this threshold is approached isquite steep and occurs in the inner suburbs of large American cities. While this presents achallenge in producing estimates, it is not insurmountable. This data limitation is in some ways
liberating because we suspect that the relationship between light emissions and economic activity
breaks down as higher levels of urbanization expand vertically rather than horizontally. We
would thus be forced to estimate central cities differently from their surroundings in any case. To
deal with the problem of saturation of urban cores, we break the process of estimating economic
activity from light emissions into two stages: we estimate activity levels for low light areas,
including urban peripheries, as a direct function of light level. We separately estimate urbancores as a function of both area and shape.

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

with a standard error of 34 percent. In evaluating this number, it should be noted that
the USCOM estimate also contains measurement error.
We deal with the problem of translating physical economic activity into standard
units by renormalizing the total for each nation to agree with that nation’s 2000 Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) in 2000 U.S. dollars at current market exchange rates (World
Bank, 2006). We thus use the light-derived estimates to establish the relative
importance of pixels within nations while maintaining consistency with publishedestimates at the national level.
In cases where we have high quality metropolitan region estimates for areas withwell-defined borders, we renormalize those areas in line with the published estimates for
GRP as per above. When such sub-regional adjustments are made, we again renormalize
the national total to coincide with World Development Indicators national estimates(GDP).
The result of this process is an estimate of economic activity for every 30 arc
second grid cell (less than one square kilometer) in the world. We refer to this indicator
as Light-based Regional Product or LRP. While it is expressed in the same nominal
dollars as GDP and GRP and designed to aggregate up to published estimates of GDP, it
is different enough in terms of both its derivation and its conceptual design that is best
identified with its own name.

Key Findings
We now turn to key findings of the research. Table 1 shows the top 20 regions worldwide
in economic activity (or LRP). Appendix 1 provides a more detailed listing of the top 100
economic regions worldwide.

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

The world’s largest metropolitan area in terms of economic activity is Greater
Tokyo which produces nearly $2 trillion dollars in economic output (see Table 2). It isfollowed by Greater New York, Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe, Los Angeles, Nagoya, Chicago,
London, Greater Antwerp, Greater Bonn and Washington DC.
The economic activity produced by these regions is substantially greater thantheir population size. The top ten, which house just 2.6 percent of the world’s population,account for more than 20 (21.2%) percent of global economic activity. The twenty largest
in economic terms, home to 4.4 percent of the world’s people, produce nearly 30 percent(28%) of global economic activity. And the world’s fifty largest economic regions, home
to 7 percent of global population, account for almost 40 percent (38.5%) of global
economic activity.

Table 1: World’s Largest Metropolitan Regions by LRP (billions)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

RegionTokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama
New York-Philadelphia-Newark
Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe
Los Angeles
NagoyaChicago-Milwaukee
LondonAntwerpen-Gent-Bruxelles-Lille-Liege
Bonn-Dortmund-Duisburg-Koln
Washington D.C.-Baltimore
Paris
BostonSeoul-Inch`on
San Jose
Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham
DallasGuangzhou-Hong Kong-Kowloon
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-The Hague
MilanoHoustonLRP (billions)$1,997.5
1,181.9
617.9
561.7
558.4
405.7
378.1
336.2
315.2
297.3
280.9
275.2
238.9
235.1
222.2
212.7
200.5
187.5
181.9
170.3

We now turn to the leading economic regions by major continent – North America,
Europe and Asia.

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

North America
Table 2 lists the ten largest economic regions in North America. New York tops the list
followed by Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington DC, Boston, San Jose, Dallas, Houston,
Detroit and Atlanta – all U.S. regions. These regions generate 11.7 percent of global
economic activity while housing 1.3 percent of world population. Toronto-Buffalo ranks
11th in North America with $ 161.8 billion in LRP and Mexico City ranks 14th in North
America with nearly $140 billion in economic activity. It is interesting to note that
Mexico City generates nearly a quarter (24 percent) of Mexico’s total economic activity.

Table 2: North America’s Largest Economic Regions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Region
New York-Philadelphia-Newark
Los Angeles
Chicago-Milwaukee
Washington D.C.-Baltimore
BostonSan Jose
Dallas
HoustonDetroitAtlanta

LRP (billions)$1,181.9
561.7
405.7
297.3
275.2
235.1
212.7
170.3
168.3
164.5

EuropeTable 3 lists the ten largest economic regions in Europe. London is the largest economic
region, followed by Greater Antwerp, Greater Bon, Paris, Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham,
Amsterdam-Rotterdam, Milan, Manchester-Liverpool, Berlin and Frankfurt. The regions
which host 1.3 percent of world population produce approximately 7.1 percent of world
economic activity.

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Table 3: Europe’s Largest Economic Regions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

RegionLondonAntwerpen-Gent-Bruxelles-Lille-Liege
Bonn-Dortmund-Duisburg-Koln
Paris
Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-The Hague
MilanoManchester-Liverpool
BerlinFrankfurt am Main

LRP (billions)$378.1
336.2
315.2
280.9
222.2
187.5
181.9
134.3
96.0
93.0

Asia
Table 4 lists Asia’s ten largest economic regions. Tokyo is Asia – and the world’s – largest
with nearly $2 trillion in LRP. Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe, Nagoya, Seoul, Fukuoka, Singapore,
Sapporo, Bangkok and Fukuyama complete the top ten. The regions account for 12.8
percent of world economic activity, while housing 2.3 percent of world population.

Table 4: Asia’s Ten Largest Economic Regions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

RegionTokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama
Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe
NagoyaSeoul
Guangzhou-Hong Kong-Kowloon
Fukuoka-Kita Kyushu
Singapore
SapporoBangkokFukuyama

LRP (billions)$1,997.5
617.9
558.4
238.9
200.5
105.8
91.9
79.4
75.4
53.1

The BRICS
A Goldman Sachs [2005] report identified the so-called BRICs nations – that is Brazil,
Russia, India and China as large, rapidly growing and increasingly significant global
economic actors. Table 5 shows the top 10 metro areas in the BRICS nations. The

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

largest is Hong Kong followed by Sao Paolo., Beijing, Shanghai, Rio de Janeiro, New
Delhi, Tianjin, Belo Hroizonte, Calcutta and Porto Alegre.

Table 5: BRICS - Ten Largest Economic Regions
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

RegionGuangzhou-Hong Kong-Kowloon
Sao Paulo
BeijingShanghaiRio de Janeiro
New Delhi-Delhi
TianjinBelo Horizonte
Calcutta
Porto Alegre

LRP (billions)$200.5
114.3
46.9
45.8
42.1
31.6
17.3
16.5
14.9
14.5

Emerging Economies
Table 6 lists the ten largest metros for the emerging economies - Argentina, Egypt,
Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, and Turkey. The largest is Buenos
Aires, followed by Mexico City, San Diego, Jerusalem-Tel Aviv, Bangkok, PretoriaJohannesburg, Jakarta, Cairo, Kuala Lumpur, and El Paso.

Table 6: Ten Largest Economic Regions in the Emerging Economies
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

RegionBuenos Aires
Mexico CitySan Diego
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv-Yafo
Bangkok
Pretoria-Johannesburg
Jakarta
Cairo-El-Giza
Kuala Lumpur
El PasoMartin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

LRP (billions)$143.2
139.4
110.3
104.6
75.4
62.9
45.9
44.3
39.5
27.5

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Global Economic Role of Metropolitan Regions
Table 7 shows the share of economic activity generated by metropolitan areas of various
sizes.

Table 7: Economic Activity by Major Region
Population cutoff (millions)
10.0
5.0
1.0
$3,451.5$5,972.0$2,288.7(20.69%)(31.21%)(54.00%)$2,118.1$3,609.3
Europe$1,310.4(15.01%)(24.26%)(41.49%)$369.1$785.4
BRICs$322.3(13.43%)(15.38%)(32.73%)$3,658.0$4,154.5
Asia*$3,613.1(65.44%)(66.26%)(75.25%)$417.0$609.8$1,023.2
Emerging
Economies **24.94%(36.47%)(61.20%)$10,615.1$16,259.1
All Nations$7,962.8(25.49%)(34.13%)(52.27%)* Hong Kong, Japan, Macao, South Korea, Singapore** Argentina, Egypt, Malaysia, Mexico, Poland, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey
Region
North America•

0.5$6,704.9(60.62%)$4,183.8(47.93%)$954.9(39.80%)$4,421.0(80.07%)$1,602.9(95.87%)$18,205.1(58.5%)The 681 metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 people, which houseroughly a quarter (24 percent) of world population, account for nearly 60 percent(58.50%) of total worldwide economic activity. Such metros account for morethan 80 percent of economic activity in Asia, roughly 60 percent of economic
activity in North America, approximately 95 percent in the Emerging Economies,
40 percent in the BRICs and nearly half (47.93%) percent on economic activity inEurope.

•The 347 metropolitan areas worldwide with more than a million people, whichhouse 20.38 percent of world population, account for more than half (52.27
percent) of worldwide economic activity. These metros command roughly threequarters (75.25 percent) of economic activity in Asia, half (54 percent) in North

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

America, roughly 60 percent in the Emerging Economies, 40 (41.49) percent inEurope and one third (32.73 percent) in the BRICs.

•

The 61 metros with more than 5 million people which house roughly 10 percent ofworld population account for a third of all global economic activity. These metros
account for two-thirds of economic activity in Asia, roughly a third (31.21
percent) in North America, a quarter (24.26 percent in Europe), approximately
36 percent in the Emerging Economies and 15 percent in the BRICs.

•

The 29 metros with more than 10 million people, which house roughly 8 percent
of global population, account for a quarter of global economic activity. These
metros account for two-thirds of economic activity in Asia, a fifth (20.69 percent)in North America, 15 percent in Europe, a quarter (24.94 percent) in the
Emerging Economies and 13 percent in the BRICs.

•

Overall, some 60 percent of worldwide activity is generated by metro areas withmore than 500,000 people. Asia leads the way in global economic urbanization,
followed by North America, the Emerging Economies and Europe.

Table 8: Share of Global Economic Activity Produced by the Largest
Economic Regions
Top Metro Regions
10
20
100

Total LRP (billions)$6.649.75$8,854.81$14,458.68

Martin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

Economic Share
21.18%
28.02%
46.05%

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

•

Finally, just the ten largest economic regions produce more than a fifth of total
economic output. The top twenty produce nearly 30 percent (28%), and the top
100 economic regions produce almost half (46 percent) of global economic
activity (Table 8).

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Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

References"The World Goes to Town." The Economist 5 May 2007.
O’Neill, J., Wilson, D. Roopa, P., Stypnytska, A. (2005) How Solid are the BRICS?
Goldman Sachs Report: Global Economics Paper No. 134. Available
at: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/hkchina/insight/research/pdf/BRICs_3_12-105.pdf. Downloaded 08/30/2008
Lang, R. E., Dhavale, D. (2005) Beyond Megalopolis: Exploring America’s New“Megapolitan” Geography. Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech, Census Report 05:01,
July 2005.
“Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index.” Purchase: MasterCard, 2008
http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights/pdfs/2008/MCWW_WCoCReport_2008.pdf
Downloaded 1/10/2009.
“Worldwide Quality of Living Survey” New York: Mercer Consulting, 2008.
http://www.mercer.com/qualityofliving
Downloaded -1/10/2009.
Pengfei, N and K Kresl. The Global Urban Competitiveness Report . Beijing: Chinese
Academy of Social Sciences, 2007-08.
Regional Plan Association, 2006. “America 2050: A Prospectus,” New York. September
2006.
Sassen, S. (1991) The Global City: New York, London, Tokyo. Princeton NJ: Princeton
UniversityPress.
Sassen, S. (2006) Cities in a World Economy, Pine Forge Press.
Sassen, S. (2008) Re-Assembling the Urban, Urban Geography, 29:2, pp 113-126
Taylor, P.J. (2003) World City Network: a global urban analysis, London: Routledge
Taylor, P.J. (2005) Leading World Cities: Empirical Evaluations of Urban Nodes inMultiple Networks, Urban Studies, Vol 42:9, pp 1593-1608
UNFPA Report (2007) State of World Population 2007, Unleashing the Potential of
Urban Growth, UN, available at;
http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2007/english/introduction.html

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Appendix
Top 100 metros by LRP (billions)
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50

RegionTokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama
New York-Philadelphia-Newark
Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe
Los Angeles
NagoyaChicago-Milwaukee
LondonAntwerpen-Gent-Bruxelles-Lille-Liege
Bonn-Dortmund-Duisburg-Koln
Washington D.C.-Baltimore
Paris
BostonSeoul-Inch`on
San Jose
Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham
DallasGuangzhou-Hong Kong-Kowloon
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-The Hague
MilanoHoustonDetroitAtlanta
Toronto-Buffalo
Tampa
Buenos Aires
Miami
Mexico City
Manchester-Liverpool
SeattleSao Paulo
San Diego
Minneapolis
Phoenix
Fukuoka-Kita Kyushu
Jerusalem-Tel Aviv-Yafo
DenverCleveland
BerlinFrankfurt am Main
Singapore
SydneyCincinnati
MadridSapporo
VeniceSt. Louis
Glasgow
Bangkok
Melbourne
Barcelona

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LRP ($billions)
1,997.5
1,181.9
617.9
561.7
558.4
405.7
378.1
336.2
315.2
297.3
280.9
275.2
238.6
235.1
222.2
212.7
200.5
187.5
181.9
170.3
168.3
164.5
161.8
146.3
143.2
142.7
139.4
134.6
123.1
114.4
110.3
107.4
106.7
105.8
104.6
99.7
99.1
96.1
93.0
91.9
83.4
82.8
81.8
79.4
79.3
77.7
76.2
75.4
72.7
69.2

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51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

NapoliRomaMontreal
Pittsburgh
Pretoria-Johannesburg
Newcastle
Hamburg
ZurichPortlandCharlotte
Kansas City
Stuttgart
Sacramento
Fukuyama
Lyon
AthensViennaSan Antonio
Indianapolis
Salt Lake City
Manila-Quezon City
Marseille
Beijing
Abu Zaby
JakartaShanghai
Pusan
Las Vegas
Cairo-El-Giza
Columbus
Mannheim - Heidelberg
Rio de Janeiro
MunchenT`ai-chung
Brisbane
Perth-Fremantle
AustinKuala Lumpur
San JuanRichmond
Kobenhavn
Taipei-Chingmei
Raleigh-Durham
SantiagoGreensboro-Winston-Salem
Norfolk
Nashville
Oslo
Kao-Hsiung-T`ai-nan
MemphisMartin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

68.9
67.1
66.9
64.4
62.9
62.7
60.1
59.8
58.7
56.1
55.2
55.1
53.4
53.1
52.1
50.8
49.6
49.6
48.5
47.9
47.1
47.0
46.9
46.4
45.9
45.8
45.0
44.8
44.3
44.2
43.5
42.1
40.8
40.8
40.6
40.5
40.0
39.5
38.9
38.9
38.8
38.2
37.0
37.0
36.8
36.5
36.3
36.3
36.0
35.1

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Top 100 metros by population (millions)
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53

RegionGuangzhou-Hong Kong-Kowloon
Cairo-El-Giza
Tokyo-Kawasaki-Yokohama
New York-Philadelphia-Newark
Seoul-Inch`on
Sao Paulo
Mexico CityNew Delhi-Delhi
Kyoto-Osaka-Kobe
BombayJakarta
Manila-Quezon City
Los Angeles
Shanghai
Antwerpen-Gent-Bruxelles-Lille-Liege
Buenos Aires
Druzba-Moskva
Calcutta
LondonKarachi
TehranUpper Nile
NagoyaChicago-Milwaukee
Paris
Bonn-Dortmund-Duisburg-Koln
Beijing
Rio de Janeiro
Bangkok
Taipei-Chingmei
Istanbul
Leeds-Sheffield-Birmingham
Dhaka
Pretoria-Johannesburg
Lima
MilanoJerusalem-Tel Aviv-Yafo
Amsterdam-Rotterdam-The Hague
Toronto-Buffalo
BogotaMadras
LahoreBrazzaville
Washington D.C.-Baltimore
BostonLagos
Hyderabad
BaghdadManchester-Liverpool
Bangalore
Santiago
San Jose
Pusan

Martin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

Population (millions)
37.19
37.15
36.52
29.63
22.01
21.74
19.60
17.59
17.48
17.33
16.27
16.01
15.86
13.97
13.76
13.58
13.46
13.10
12.58
11.70
11.19
11.02
10.78
10.67
10.57
10.44
10.33
10.08
10.02
9.54
9.44
9.39
8.63
8.51
8.00
7.71
7.63
7.62
7.25
7.10
7.04
7.01
6.99
6.84
6.59
6.54
6.35
6.26
5.96
5.84
5.80
5.59
5.32

16

Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
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79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100

Ho Chi Minh City
MadridAr RiyadDallasMiami
TianjinT`ai-chungKao-Hsiung-T`ai-nan
Tampa
Ahmadabad
Kuala Lumpur
NapoliSurabajaBarcelona
HoustonFukuoka-Kita Kyushu
Saint Petersburg
Khartoum-Omdurman
Wuhan
Detroit
Pune
ChengduShenyangAtlanta
Singapore
Belo Horizonte
Montreal
Xian
San Diego
Alexandria
Guadalajara
Bandung
BerlinNanjing
Algiers
Phoenix
SydneyCasablanca
Monterrey
Roma
AthensCaracasRecifeAnkaraPorto Alegre
Santo Domingo
RangoonMartin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

5.30
5.29
5.25
5.24
5.23
5.13
5.09
5.07
4.93
4.86
4.78
4.74
4.74
4.73
4.66
4.64
4.60
4.55
4.50
4.46
4.46
4.39
4.31
4.23
4.23
4.16
4.13
4.03
3.99
3.95
3.92
3.80
3.71
3.63
3.59
3.58
3.54
3.54
3.49
3.46
3.42
3.36
3.34
3.30
3.25
3.16
3.15

17

Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Author Bios
Dr. Richard Florida is Professor of Business and Creativity at the
Rotman School of Business, and the Academic Director at theMartin Prosperity Institute. Prior to joining the Rotman School, hetaught for nearly two decades at Carnegie Mellon University andhas been a visiting professor at MIT and Harvard University’s
Kennedy School of Government. His books include three best
sellers: The Rise of the Creative Class (Basic Books, 2002), The
Flight of the Creative Class (Harper Collins, 2005), and his newest
book, Who’s Your City (Basic Books).
Dr. Charlotta Mellander is the research director at the Prosperity
Institute of Scandinavia and close collaborator with Professor
Richard Florida and Dr Kevin Stolarick at the Prosperity Institute inToronto. Charlotta earned a Ph.D. in economics at Jönköping
International Business School. Her dissertation examined regional
attractiveness, the urbanization process, the importance of cities,
and the relationship between the service sector and the market.
Charlotta began her Ph.D. work in Tema Technology and Social
Change, before transferring to Jönköping. She is affiliated with the
CESIS (Centre of Excellence for Science and Innovation Studies)
under the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm.
Dr. Timothy Gulden is a research fellow with the Krasnow Institutefor Advanced Study at George Mason University and with theCenter for International and Security Studies at Maryland (CISSM)
at the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. He has beena visiting scholar at the Brookings Institution's Center for Socialand Economic Dynamics (CSED) and attended the Santa Fe
Institute's Complex Systems Summer School in 2002. His research
involves the application of complex systems methodologies to policy
problems including the control of violent conflict in Eastern Africa
and the management of urban systems in the face of and globalized
markets.

Martin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002

Global Metropolis, March 2009, Florida et al.

Working Paper Series
The MPI is dedicated to producing research that engages
individuals, organizations and governments. We strive to make asmuch research as possible publicly available.
Our research focuses on developing data and new insight about theunderlying forces that power economic prosperity. It is oriented
around three main themes: economic performance, place, andcreativity.
Disclaimer
The views represented in this paper are those of the author and may
not necessarily reflect the views of the Martin Prosperity Institute,its affiliates or its funding partners.
Any omissions or errors remain the sole responsibility of theauthor. Any comments or questions regarding the content of thisreport may be directed to the authors.

Martin Prosperity Institute REF. 2009-MPIWP-002