H.V. SAVITCHBROWN & WILLIAMSON DISTINGUISHED

RESEARCH PROFESSOR

CENTRE FOR URBAN AND COMMUNITY STUDIES, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO

April 30, 2013

“WHAT MAKES A GREAT CITY GREAT? PUTTING TORONTO IN

PERSPECTIVE

Searching for Greatness

DEFINITIONS

A person, place or thing that stands out above all others in significant respects

Having majesty and prominence over particular domainsExtraordinary and distinguished in particular waysMore controversially, conveying an “elitist” or “superior”

quality

IDENTIFYING GREAT CITIES

General Characteristics Uniqueness Marginality (re conventional patterns) Spontaneity Flux , slack, uncertainty

Mainly the presence of conditions An environment rather than a creation Cultivated rather than planned

Athens (5th century BCE)• Naval

fleet/knowledge/values/philosophy/”democracy”

Rome (3rd century CE)• Military conquest, imperial

governance, Latin as lingua franca, public works, architecture, roads

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Florence (14th-16th centuries CE)• Painting, sculpture, scientific design

Amsterdam (17th century CE)• Shipping, ports, international trade,

colonialism

Athens

Amsterdam

London (19th early 20th century)

• Manufacture, finance, international trade, empire

Apologies to Jerusalem, 1 CE as religious birthplace, Paris, 1890s for its art and architecture, Berlin, 1920s for its theater, and others

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Jerusalem

Currency, Cosmopolitan, Concentration and Charisma• Currency: cutting edge of the times, set values of the times (two

senses)• Cosmopolitanism: global, international, poly-ethnic or multi-cultural

features (connectivity to a larger world)• Concentration: demographic density, productive mass, centeredness,

continuous development, mixed and accessible land uses• Charisma: magnetic appeal; magical qualities capable of generating

enthusiasm, admiration or allegiance

THE 4Cs OF GREATNESS

The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

Currency• NYC’s dominant economy (Wall Street diversified by advertising,

law, tourism, hotels, theater, fashion, arts)• LA’s media economy (film/TV production; diversified by high

tech, light manufacture and retail)• SF’s balanced economy (“Wall Street of the West” diversified by

high/bio tech, health, trade and tourism)• Chicago’s transitioned economy ( diversified by transportation,

distribution, corporate headquarters)

Cosmopolitanism• NYC as world’s immigrant city; waves of Dutch, Irish, Italian, Jewish,

Slav, Black, Puerto Rican immigration (ethnic neighborhoods (Moynihan’s & Glazer’s, Beyond the Melting Pot) United Nations, foreign consulates

• LA’s influx from rest of nation plus Mexican; Persian settled in low density, heterogeneous neighborhoods

• SF’s early foreign stock (Italy, Germany, Ireland and Russia) succeed by leftist, youth, Gay & “trendy” influx

• Chicago’s little bit of everything; Lakefront (“patricians”) Bridgeport (Irish ) Near West Side (Greek, Italian) North Side (“yuppie”) and South Side(African American)—convergence at “The Loop”

The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

Concentration•NYC’s highest density of 24,000 per sq. mi. (Manhattan @ 70,000) matched by a noted epicenter (Times Square) high subway ridership (1.4 million) & mixed land uses.

•SF’s high density of 16,000 per sq. mi. matched by strong centers & public transit high commuters (120,000) & lightly diversified city.

The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

San Francisco

New York City

Concentration• Chicago’s density of 12,700

per sq mi. fed by 100,000 commuters; portrayed via “concentric zone” theory

• LA’s lower/extended densities of 8000 per sq. mi.; much lower public transit of just 6,000 commuters spreads, segregated uses through area; portrayed via “post modernism”

The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

Chicago

Los Angeles

Charisma• NYC’s “The Big Apple, unique cultural mix (Broadway, Little Italy,

Harlem, West Village); “make it there, make it anywhere• Chicago as the “second city” that is not NYC; (Lakefront, “Golden

Mile”, Wrigley Field); “town that won’t let you down”• San Francisco as America’s picturesque city (Victorian, Ghiardelli

Square, Golden Gate Bridge, “deviance” as civility; “city on the Bay”• Los Angeles, despite critiques (short on character) has its

devotees, free wheeling and open environment; lack of a renowned sobriquet

The 4 Cs in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco

New York, NY

Chicago, IL San Francisco,

CA

Los Angeles, CA

CURRENCY

GMP (US$Billion) 1,166.40 498.6 292.6 687.2

Employment total 3,720,248 1 242 375 418 914 1,766,442

Fortune 500 Company 45 11 6 4

Percapita income 26,975 24 084 40 533 24,380

Top High-Tech Cities 0.9 0.9 1.8 1.6

US Patent Grants 1,704 2 929 1 700 2,348

COSMOPOLITANISM

Immigrants 3,028,148 594,841 270,481 1,509,764

Foreign Tourists 6,932,500 1,104,500 2,131,500 2,583,000

Airline Passengers – Int’l 20,990,874 7,760,843 8,129,389 16,302,296

Embassy & Foreign Consular Offices 129 43 44 27

Global Network Connectivity 61,895 39,025 32,178 38,009

Table 1

Table 1 Cont’d

New York, NY Chicago, IL San Fransisco,

CA

Los Angeles,

CA

CONCENTRATION

Central City Density (per sq. mile) 26,403 12,750 16,634 7,877

Size of Downtown (sq. mile) 7.82 3.36 2.34 1.25

Central City Population Proportion Downtown 2.00% 2.60% 5.70% 1%

Population Density Gradient -7.30% -2.40% -5.30% -2.60%

CBD Share of Urban Area Employment 20.10% 14.30% 12.20% 2.50%

% Commuting to Work Via Public Transportation 54.56% 25.90% 32.20% 11.00%

CHARISMA

Google Hits (millions) 1,100 447 315 361

Bohemian Index ranking 3 20 8 2

Amenity Richness 12.26 8.46 6.29 6.88

Internet Movie Database Titles 3,249 467 563 1,010

Top 10 Most Desirable Cities 21% 13% 13% 40%

Currency: NY tops /SF high pci/LA gmp/Chicago’s balance

Cosmopolitanism: NY predominates followed by LA, Chicago and SF

Concentration: NY, highest density, sharpest density gradient plus high public transit, next by SF & Chicago: LA lower density (spread city)

Charisma: NY leads (most counts) LA high (movies/desirable) and SF (Bohemian and amenities) and Chicago (Google,Bohemian)

COMPARING BY NUMBERS

All told: 22 measures/ 88 observations our four cities w/I top fifth 72 % of time (exchge. Boston, Seattle, Washington, DC /not Houston, Phoenix, SD)

COMPARING BY NUMBERS

• LA as exception (post modernism, DEAD) proves rule

• Chicago’s transformation & niche as “second best”

New York, NY

Chicago, IL

San Francisco

, CA

Los Angeles,

CA

Toronto, Ontario

CURRENCY

GMP (US$ Billion) 1,277.228 (2011)

547.609 (2011)

347.107 (2011)

747.306 (2011) 323 (2011)

Employment total 4,154,195 (2010)

1,416,205 (2010)

484,137 (2010)

1,996,750 (2010)

1,298,731 (2007)

Fortune 500 Company 36 (2012) 6 (2012) 7 (2012) 5 (2012) 7 (2012)

Per capita income 26,975 24 084 40 533 24,380 38,100

Top High-Tech Cities 0.9 0.9 1.8 1.6 1.1

US Patent Grants 1,704 2 929 1 700 2,348 1,530

COSMOPOLITANISM

Immigrants 2,989,825 (2010)

568,495 (2010)

284,280 (2010)

1,491,658 (2010)

1,237,720 (2006)

Foreign Tourists 6,932,500 1,104,500 2,131,500 2,583,000 3,190,000

Airline Passengers – Int’l 20,990,874 7,760,843 8,129,389 16,302,296 19,207,008

Embassy & Foreign Consular Offices 129 43 44 27 12

Globalization and World City Rank

Alpha++ Alpha+ Alpha Alpha Alpha

Global Network Connectivity 61,895 39,025 32,178 38,009 37,680

Table 1 (with Toronto)

Table 1 Cont’dNew York,

NYChicago,

ILSan

Francisco, CA

Los Angeles,

CA

Toronto, Ontario

CONCENTRATION

Central City Population 8,175,133 (2010)

2,695,598 (2010)

805,235 (2010)

3,792,621 (2010)

2,615,060 (2011)

Metropolitan Area Population 19,567,410 (2010)

9,461,105 (2010)

4,335,391 (2010)

12,828,837 (2010)

5,583,064 (2011)

Central City Density (per sq. mile) 26,403 12,750 16,634 7,877 10,750

Size of Downtown (sq. mile)7.82 3.36 2.34 1.25 6.94

Central City Population Proportion Downtown 2.00% 2.60% 5.70% 1% 7%

Population Density Gradient -7.30% -2.40% -5.30% -2.60% -3.65%

CBD Share of Urban Area Empl. 20.10% 14.30% 12.20% 2.50% 31.61%

% Commuting to Work Via Public Transportation 54.56% 25.90% 32.20% 11.00% 22.21%

CHARISMA

Google Hits (millions) 1,100 447 315 361 246

Bohemian Index 1.935 1.22 1.407 2.008 1.561

Amenity Richness 12.26 8.46 6.29 6.88 N/A

Internet Movie Database Titles 3,249 467 563 1,010 200

Top 10 Most Desirable Cities 21% 13% 13% 40% N/A