Beyond Friedmann's world city hypothesis: twenty-two urban arenas across the world

We go beyond FRIEDMANN's world city hierarchy through an empirical investigation of how financial and business service firms use cities across the world in their provision of services to global capital, and thereby create a world city network. We explore in detail the configuration of this network through an analysis of 234 cities ordered into 22 urban arenas. The latter reflect an intertwining of hierarchical and regional tendencies in the servicing of global capital. Our findings include the presence of a trilateral core, the distinctive profiles of US cities, the high degree of trans-regional 'hybridity' of European cities, and the marginal position of (sub-Saharan) African cities. More specific patterns include the particular distinctiveness of the London-New York dyad, the extra-regional tendencies of Mumbai and Nairobi, and Miami's particular role as a gateway between Anglo- and Latin America.