Welcome to the website of the Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) research network. GaWC is dedicated to the analysis of inter-city relations within global urban networks. Through rigorous research and a range of bespoke collaborations with academic and non-academic partners, we provide a dedicated space to interrogate the economic, political, societal, cultural and governance dimensions of global urban connectivity.
Originally conceived as a platform for studying globalised urbanisation at large, GaWC has evolved over time to respond to the expanding and diversifying literature in urban studies. Recognising it now occupies a specific niche within broader debates, the renewed website of GaWC focuses more than ever on inter-city relations, exploring how cities interact, cooperate and compete in a global context.
Our city classification The World According to GaWC provides a regularly updated mapping of the city-centred world of flows in contrast to the more familiar state-centred world of boundaries.