TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCities inaGlobalisingWorldEconomy JohannesburgandSãoPaulo MartinJMurray HSRC Publishers Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za III DemocracyandGovernanceResearchProgramme,OccasionalPaper5 SeriesEditor:AdamHabib,ExecutiveDirector:DemocracyandGovernanceResearchProgramme,HumanSciences ResearchCouncil PublishedbyHSRCPublishers PrivateBagX9182,CapeTown,8000,SouthAfrica www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za ©2004HumanSciencesResearchCouncil Firstpublished2004 Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthisbookmaybereprintedorreproducedorutilisedinanyformorbyanyelectronic, mechanical,orothermeans,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orinanyinformationstorageorretrievalsystem, withoutpermissioninwritingfromthepublishers. ISSN1726-0175 ISBN0796920729 CoverbyJennyYoung ProductionbycomPress DistributedinAfricabyBlueWeaverMarketingandDistribution, POBox30370,Tokai,CapeTown,7966,SouthAfrica. Tel:+27+21-701-4477 Fax:+27+21-701-7302 email:booksales@hsrc.ac.za Distributedworldwide,exceptAfrica,byIndependentPublishersGroup, 814NorthFranklinStreet,Chicago,IL60610,USA. www.ipgbook.com Toorder,calltoll-free:1-800-888-4741 Allotherinquiries,Tel:+1+312-337-0747 Fax:+1+312-337-5985 email:Frontdesk@ipgbook.com Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za III Preface The Democracy and Governance Research Programme of the Human Sciences Research Council publishes an Occasional Paper series which is designed to offer timelycontributionstodebates,disseminateresearchfindingsandotherwiseengage withthebroaderresearchcommunity.Authorsinvitecommentsandresponsesfrom readers. Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za AbouttheAuthor MartinJMurrayisProfessorofSociologyattheStateUniversityofNewYorkin Binghamton. He is the author of numerous books, including The development of capitalismincolonialIndochina(BerkeleyandLosAngeles:UniversityofCalifornia Press 1980), South Africa: time of agony, time of destiny (London and New York: Verso1987),andRevolutiondeferred:thepainfulbirthofpost-apartheidSouthAfrica (LondonandNewYork:Verso1995).Heiscurrentlyinterestedinquestionsofurban space, including modernist (and post-modernist) city building, the contradictory impulsesofrealestatecapitalism,theexclusionaryeffectsofbunkerarchitecture,and placemakingasboundarymarking. IV Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCities inaGlobalisingWorldEconomy JohannesburgandSãoPaulo Introduction The ‘global cities’ paradigm has drawn our attention to the pivotal role of large metropolisesaskeycommandandcontrolcentreswithinthecapitalistworldeconomy. Acentralaxiomofthisinnovativetheoreticalframeworkistheclaimthatthespatial dispersalofgiant‘multi-national’corporationsoverconsiderabledistancesrequiresa parallelterritorialconcentrationof‘commandandcontrol’functionsattheapexof theglobalurbanhierarchy.Yetbyprivilegingthefunctionalspecialisationsoflarge metropolitanregionswithintheworldeconomy,the‘globalcities’approachrestricts thekindsofquestionsthatcanbelegitimatelyaddressedwithinitsconceptualframe ofreference.Inparticular,bynarrowingthescopeofresearchtothefunctionalroles ofcitieswithintheworldeconomy,the‘globalcities’paradigmtendstodownplay theevolvingspatialformof citiesthataspireto‘world-class’ status.Incontrast,a growing number of scholars have focused instead on the changing morphological characteristicsofurbanlandscapes,and,inparticular,ontheuse,management,and regulationofurbanspace.Byemphasisingsuchspatialfeaturesasunfetteredurban sprawl,theurbanisationoftheperiphery,theproliferationof‘edgecities’,andthe emergenceofanew‘fortificationaesthetic’thathasaccompaniedtheconstruction ofsuchpost-publicplacesasfestivalmarketplaces,citadelofficecomplexes,enclosed shoppingmalls,andgatedresidentialcommunities,thesetheoristsofurbanlifehave drawnattentiontotheevolvingpatternsofspatialrestructuringassociationwitha 1 Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za MartinJMurray 2 TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCitiesinaGlobalisingWorldEconomy 3 distinctivekindofpolynucleatedandfragmentedcity-form,onewhichsomescholars havecalled‘postmodernurbanism’. Attheriskofoversimplification,itispossibletoidentityfivefeaturesassociated with‘post-modernurbanism’.Whilethesedonotexhaustthepossiblecharacteristics of this particular kind of urbanity, they do constitute its central elements. Concentrating on the extent to which these characteristic features of postmodern urbanismcanbefoundintwoaspirant‘world-class’cities–JohannesburgandSão Paulo–enablesustohighlighttheglobaldispersalofanewkindofurbanformthat hasdevelopedaroundtheworld.Oneofthedeficienciesinexistingurbanscholarship isthegreatgapbetweenthegrand,totalisingtheorieslikethe‘globalcities’paradigm orthe‘post-modernurbanism’ideasassociatedwiththeso-calledLosAngeles(LA) Schoolandempiricalstudiesofcitiesthatare,sotospeak,‘offthemap’.Looking at these ‘ordinary cities’ that fall outside the glare of the core zones of the world economyprovidesuswithanunusualopportunitytoinvestigateinsomedetailhow theglobalisingtendenciesof city-buildingtrickledowntoaspiring to‘world-class’ statusbutthosewhicharelocatedwellbelowthetopofthe‘globalcities’hierarchy. ThepioneeringworkofurbantheoristssuchasJohnFriedmannandGoetzWolff, Saskia Sassen, Manuel Castells, Peter Taylor, Anthony King, and Neil Bremner, amongmanyothers,hasdrawnattentiontothepivotalroleofthecurrentwaveof globalisation in fostering intensified competition amongst and between cities that aspireto‘world-class’status. 1 Inthemain,muchofthisscholarlywritingabouturban rivalrieshascrystallisedaroundaresearchagendathathascometobeknownasthe ‘global cities’ paradigm. Scholars operating within this framework have sought to reassesstheimportanceoflarge metropolisesaskeycommandand controlcentres withintheinterlockingglobalisingdynamicsoffinancialmarkets,high-levelproducer services industries, corporate headquarters and other associated business-services industries (telecommunications, business conferences, media, design and cultural industries,transport,andpropertydevelopments).Acentraltenetofthisinnovative theoretical framework is the contention that the spatial dispersal of transnational corporations(TNCs)overincreasinglyglobaldistancesrequiresaparallelterritorial concentration of ‘command’ functions at the apex of the global urban hierarchy (Amin&Graham1997). Inshort,theglobalintegrationofhigh-levelheadquarterfunctionshas created‘a newstrategicroleformajorcities’.Beyondtheirconventionalhistoricalroleascentral sitesformanagingworldwidetradeandinternationalbankingandfinance,emergent ‘globalcities’nowfunctionas‘highlyconcentratedcommand[andcontrol]pointsin theorganisationoftheworldeconomy’andaskeylocationsfortransnationalcorporate Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za MartinJMurray 2 TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCitiesinaGlobalisingWorldEconomy 3 head offices. 2 While globalisation has affected all kinds of geographical localities in a variety of ways, it assumes particular significance in those key urban centres thatscholars havelabelled‘global’ or‘worldcities’.Inshort,globalisationprecedes and largely determines urban spatial and sociocultural restructuring, inexorably transformingemergentglobalcitiesbydisconnectingthemfromtheirlocalties. 3 In its original formulation, the ‘global cities’ thesis laid particular stress on the historically specific functions of London, New York and Tokyo at the apex of the world-scale urban hierarchy. At the outset, discussion focused on clarifying terminological disputes (‘world’ versus ‘global’ cities), refining initial definitions, and postulating about which cities might be included under the rubric of ‘global cities’andwhatcriteriamightbeusedtodeterminetheirrankorder.Overtime,the ‘globalcities’debatehasmovedawayfromitsrelativelynarrowfocusonafewleading urbancentrestoamuchmorenuanced,sophisticatedandbroadertheorisationofthe changingfunctionsofcitiesinaglobalisingworldeconomyincreasinglydominated byinformationalisedeconomicactivities(Castells1996;Lo&Yeung1998;Marcuse &VanKempen2000a;Sassen2000a,2000c).Takenasawhole,the‘globalcities’ model –withits particular stressontheevolving networkof interconnectedurban centres–hassparkedagreatdealofsubstantiveresearchthathasgreatlyadvancedour understandingoftheplaceandfunctionofcertainstrategicallylocatedcitiesinthe spatialgeographyofthecontemporaryworldeconomy.Bysituatinglargemetropolitan regions within a common ‘globalising’ framework, this approach has opened up uniquepossibilitiesforfruitfulcomparisonsthatpromisetoyieldnewinsightsintothe changingrolesofcitiesinthecontemporaryworldeconomy(Abu-Lughod1999;Abu- Lughod2001;Nijman1997;Portes&Stepick1993;Sassen&Portes1993). Nevertheless, despite its considerable strengths as an orienting framework forempirically groundedresearch,the ‘global cities’approach is not without its theoretical limitations as an overarching paradigm for studying contemporary cities. 4 Byidentifyingcertainkeyurbancentresasmaterialmanifestationsofthe structuralprocessesofglobalisation,the‘globalcities’approachhasincorporateda certainfunctionalistandeconomisticbiasintoitstheoreticalreasoning. 5 Thisway ofthinkinghasinadvertentlycontributedtoanarrowingofthefieldofvisionfor urbanstudies.Byanalyticallyprivilegingthefunctionalrolesandspecialisationsof largemetropolitancentresintheglobalmarketplace,andbycategorisingcitiesinto arankedhierarchyroughlyinaccordancewiththeeconomicpowertheycommand, the‘globalcities’approachlimits,inanaprioriway,thekindsofquestionsthat can be legitimately addressed within its theoretical framework (Robinson 2002; Smith1998). Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za By directing attention primarily to transnational business and financial networks thatlinkleadingmetropolitancentresinaglobalhierarchydefinedprimarilybymarket relations,the‘globalcities’literaturetendstodownplayoroverlooktheevolvingspatial dynamicsoflargecities thataspire to ‘world-class’ status. In contrast,urbantheorists suchasDavidHarvey,JohnHannigan,NanEllin,MichaelDear,StevenFlusty,Diane Ghirado,MichaelSorkin, MikeDavis, Christine Boyer,SharonZukin,EdwardSoja, ChristopherJencksandmanyothershavefocusedinsteadonthechangingmorphological characteristics of urban landscapes and, in particular, on the use, management and regulationofcityspace(Boyer1998;Davis1985;Dear2000;Dear&Flusty1998;Ellin 1996;Ghirado1991;Harvey1989;Hannigan1998;Jencks1993;Soja1989;Soja1992; Sorkin1992;Zukin1998).Inlookingatthefragmentationoftheurbanrealmintowhat DavidHarveycalls‘apatchworkquiltofislandsofrelativeaffluencestrugglingtosecure themselvesinaseaofspreadingdecay’(Harvey2000:152),thesescholarshavedrawnour attentiontothespatialityofcontemporarycities.Byhighlightingsuchspatialfeaturesas ‘edgecities’,gatedresidentialcommunitiesandotherprivatopias,fortifiedofficecitadels, downtown renaissance zones,festival marketplaces and other enclosed shopping mall extravaganzasastheyappearincitiesaroundtheworld,theseurbantheoristshavedrawn ourattentiontotheevolvingpatternsofspatialrestructuringassociatedwithadistinctive kindofpolynucleatedandfragmentedcityform,onewhichsomescholarshavecalled ‘postmodernurbanism’. 6 Unlikethe ‘globalcities’paradigmthat takes urban political economyasitspointofdeparture,thetheoristsof‘postmodernurbanism’lookupon thecityscapeasacontestedterrain,wherespatialpoliticsinvolvestrugglesovertheuse ofurbanspace,particularlyinregardtowhobelongswhereandwithwhatentitlements orcitizenshiprights(Borden,Kerr,Rendell&Pivaro2001;Dovey1999;Harvey2000; Holston1999;Leach2002;Sandercock1998;Westwood&Williams1997). As a distinct urban form, postmodern urbanism expresses the confluence of a multiplicity of macrosocial trends, including deindustrialisation of the metropolis (wherepost-Fordist‘flexiblespecialisation’hasreplacedFordistmassproductionas the mainengineofeconomicgrowth),thewidespreadmiddle-classabandonment ofurbanresidence coupledwithrapidsuburbansprawl,thedevaluationofpublic space(parks,plazas,streetscapes,sidewalks,collectivemodesoftransportandeasily accessible places of entertainment), and an awestruck love affair with an ‘inward- looking’ architectural style that ‘turns its back on’ the surrounding cityscape. Drivenbytherelentlesspressuresofglobalcompetitioninallitsguises,postmodern urbanism conforms to an inner logic of spatial partitioning that privileges and rewardscityscapesthatinsinuatethemselveswithintransnationalcircuitsoffinance capital.Inaspiringtoachieve‘world-class’status,‘cityboosters’fosterthekindsof 4 MartinJMurray Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za 5 business-friendly, urban regeneration strategies that curry favour with large-scale global corporations by creating cocooned sites of luxury entertainment, shopping and leisure, while simultaneously leaving poor and working-class urban residents tofendforthemselvesincompetingforaccesstoaffordablehousing,todwindling publicspaceandtoprivatised(‘pay-as-you-go’)municipalservices(Connell1999; Fitzsimons1995;Kenny1995;Loukaitou-Sideris&Banerjee1998). Postmodern urbanism represents a distinct phase of urban growth and development, one characterised by the shift from what Christine Boyer calls the (modernist-inspired) ‘city as panorama’ to the ‘city as spectacle’ (Boyer 1998). It reflects the collapse of confidence in the holistic design of the urban landscape, a declining faith in comprehensive urban planning as a panacea for social ills, a nostalgicfascinationwith‘smallisbeautiful’,aturn todecorativepastiche(orthe freeplayofstylesandhistoricistallusions)andagrowingmoralpanicassociatedwith the fear of crime (Huxtable 1997; Jameson 1991; Judd & Fainstein 1999). New kindsofsegregation–whethersocialorspatial,semioticorsymbolic–havebecome the visible signs of postmodern urbanism. The main instrument through which social and spatial segregation is organised is what Teresa Caldeira calls ‘fortified enclaves’,andtheprincipalrhetoricthatlegitimatesthemisthefearofcrime.The newpatternsofurbansegregationhavecreatednovelkindsof‘socialspace’–neither fullypublicnorcompletelyprivate–incontemporarycitiesaroundtheworld,and these congregating spaces no longer relate to the modern ideals of commonality anduniversality.Instead,thisnewkindofsocialspaceoperatesontheprincipleof separatenessandassumesthatsocialgroupsshouldlive,workandspendtheirleisure timeinhomogenousenclaves,physicallyisolatedfromthosepersonsperceived(and stigmatised)asdifferent,threateningandunwanted(Caldeira1996b;Caldeira2000; Davis1992;Merrifield&Swyngedouw1997). Spacematters:post-modernurbanismand the‘LosAngelesschool’ TheurbantheoristJanNijmanhasproposedthenotionof‘paradigmaticcity’asa heuristicdevicethatcanassistusindiviningfuturetrendsinurbanrestructuring. The ‘paradigmaticcity’maybedefinedastheexemplarymetropolisthatdisplays moreclearlythanotherurbansitesthedistinguishingfeaturesandgeneraltrendsthat aresymptomaticofbroadersociogeographicaltransformationsofcitiestakingplace onaworldscale.Inshort,itanticipates,inagenuinelyprescientway,evolvingand TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCitiesinaGlobalisingWorldEconomy Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za MartinJMurray 6 TheEvolvingSpatialFormofCitiesinaGlobalisingWorldEconomy 7 unfoldingpatternsofglobalurbanisation.Understoodinthisway,the‘paradigmatic city’servesasanideal-typicalmodel,alivinglaboratoryforanalysisandaprototype forinvestigatingtrendsthatarenotasyeteasilydiscernible inothercities. Inthe 1920sand1930s,theso-called‘ChicagoSchool’ofurbanstudies(undertheguiding hand of Robert Park, Ernest Burgess and Louis Wirth, in particular) defined an agendaforscholarlyresearchonmetropolitanareasthatachievedundeniablesuccess asaworkableparadigm.Takingahumanecologyapproachastheiranalyticpointof departure,the‘ChicagoSchool’urbanistsusedthemodelofconcentricringstodirect attentiontosuchproblemareasaslandusepatterns,urbanlifestyles,ethnicrivalries andtheeffectsofurbanenvironmentonhumanbehaviour.Despitechallengesfrom alternativeperspectives,theChicagoSchooldominatedthefieldofurbanstudiesfor mostofthetwentiethcentury(Dear&Flusty1997;Nijman2000). Beginning in the 1980s, a group of urban scholars began to challenge the conventionalwisdomthattheevolvingurbanlandscapeofthegreaterLosAngeles metropolitan region was a notable exception to the rules governing process of urbanisationinthecontemporaryUnitedStates.Theyarguedinsteadthatthisvast, sprawling urban polyglot was not only symptomatic of wider sociogeographical transformations of metropolitan regions throughout the United States, but also a ‘prototype of our urban future’. 7 Despite their loose affiliations and somewhat differing orientations, these urban theorists became known as the ‘Los Angeles School’ (LA School), primarily because the vast urbanising sprawl of southern Californiawasnotonlythesiteofmuchoftheirresearchbutalsothesourceoftheir inspiration. The scholarly literature clustered around the LA School is filled with allusions to, and suggestions about, the paradigmatic qualities of the Los Angeles megalopolis. 8 The focal point of the LA School is the two-sided claim that the greater Los Angeles metropolitan region not only is emblematic of more general urbandynamicsthatarecurrentlyreshapingprominentcitiesaroundtheworld,but also represents the quintessential exemplar of a ‘“mature” postmodern landscape’ (Dear 2000; Dear 2001; Scott 2000; Scott & Soja 1996; Soja 1989; Soja 1996; Soja 1999; Soja2000).Bymakingastrong‘caseformovingLosAngelesfroma conceptuallocationasmarginalaberrationtooneofexplanatorycentrality’(Crang 2001:666),leadingLASchoolfiguressuchasMichaelDear,StevenFlusty,Edward Soja,AllenScott,MichaelStorperandothershaveself-consciouslysoughttodefine analternativetheoreticalorientationforurbanstudies,arguingthatthenewkindsof urbanitythathaveevolvedoutofthegreaterLosAngelesmetropolitanregionhave renderedtheresearchagendaoftheChicagoSchoolobsoleteandoutdated(Cenzatti 1993;Coquery-Vidrovitch2000;Dear&Flusty1997;Dear&Flusty1998;Dear Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za [...]... www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za... download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download... Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za . www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za MartinJMurray 2 The Evolving Spatial Form of Cities in a Globalising World Economy 3 head offices. 2 While globalisation has affected all. ‘paradigmaticcity’maybedefinedas the exemplarymetropolisthatdisplays moreclearlythanotherurbansites the distinguishingfeaturesandgeneraltrendsthat aresymptomatic of broadersociogeographicaltransformations of cities takingplace on a world scale. In short,itanticipates, in a genuinelyprescientway, evolving and The Evolving Spatial Form of Cities in a Globalising World Economy Free download from www.hsrcpublishers.ac.za MartinJMurray 6 The Evolving Spatial Form of Cities in a Globalising World Economy 7 unfoldingpatterns of globalurbanisation.Understood in thisway, the ‘paradigmatic city’servesasanideal-typicalmodel, a livinglaboratoryforanalysisand a prototype forinvestigatingtrendsthatarenotasyeteasilydiscernible