Comparing The Sub-Indexes Of World Cities

Our world, once divided by the vastness of its oceans, has become connected more so than ever through globalization. International transport, communication, and commerce are results of this development. While globalization has its benefits, it instills regional and global competition between cities. Some cities have flourished, becoming world cities. Others struggle to maintain or catch up. To better understand this sense of competition, indexes have conceptualized universal characteristics of existing world cities to measure how other cities will compare. These indexes paint a clearer picture of what comprises a world city and provide direction for how a city might improve its local or relative situation. One city, Athens, Greece, is world renowned for its historical context. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been around for over three millennia. Additionally, the city was the center of ancient Greek …show more content…
Its competitors, Lisbon and Budapest, which place above Athens, and Prague and Seoul, which are below, geographically range from Spain to the Republic of Korea. Comparing the sub-indexes of these cities reveals that Athens excels in quality of life and infrastructure while lacking in environment, production, and equity. Equity is Athens’ lowest score, significantly decreasing its five-dimensional rank. Two characteristics of Athens can justify this score. First, Athens functions through non-basic activities targeting tourists. This economy benefits visitors a great deal while generally disregarding the current population. Thus, disrupting how benefits spread across the city. Furthermore, Greece is suffering from a nearly decade-long recession (CITE?). This economic situation negatively impacts employment rates, income gaps, and production. Athens ' environment score decreases as a result of towering hills which trap polluted air around the city 's