Pathways of change: Shifting connectivities in the world city network, 2000-2008

This is an empirical paper that measures and interprets changes in intercity relations at
the global scale in the period 2000-08. It draws on the network model devised by the
Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research group to measure global connectivities
for 132 cities across the world in 2000 and 2008. The measurements for both years are
adjusted so that a coherent set of services/cities is used. A range of statistical techniques
is used to explore these changes at the city level and the regional scale. The most notable
changes are: the general rise of connectivity in the world city network; the loss of global
connectivity of US and sub-Saharan African cities (Los Angeles, San Francisco and
Miami in particular); and, the gain in global connectivity of south Asian, Chinese and
eastern European cities (Shanghai, Beijing and Moscow in particular).

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