The Largest, Metropolitan, and Global Centers in the World Arena: Matching Networks

Abstract— The article compares the leadership of the world’s cities in terms of their size, capital status, global economic functions, and spatial structure of their networks. The global network of 210 largest centers is polycentric but coincides with the network of capitals by only one-third. Giant countries, except for Indonesia and Russia, are characterized by bi- or even polycentrism and active competition of the leading cities. They are dictated by geographic, political, and other factors. Smaller countries, far more numerous in the world, as a rule (but not without exceptions), have monopolistic centers, most often represented by their capitals as absolute and unrivaled leaders. Lists of just large and global cities almost equal in length coincide by 60%. It is difficult for small and poor countries to create global centers; it is easier for them to grow a global center from a capital or largest city. Shifts of urban networks to the south at the planetary level are caused by both global and (often) internal forces, including sharp reversals in countries with transitional economies.