| The process of globalization is fundamentally reorienting not only urban economies, but also urban political projects and the ways in which people think of cities as being connected to one other through trade, migration, communication and representation. This dissertation examines the distinct patterns of global integration among “second cities,” and assesses their impacts on local and international economic development, and on local political culture. Second cities are those that possess: (1) industrial concentrations in nonfinancial sectors serving global markets, including both headquarters and branch offices of globally active firms; (2) a common migration pattern that emphasizes internal migration and selective international migration; (3) a focus on the development, institutionalization and dissemination or export of professional/expert cultures; (4) a common historical, developmental trajectory, provided in large part by transportation planning projects that integrate the city more deeply into global flows; and (5) a characteristic politics and ideological orientation, including the growth over time of a second-city self-consciousness or identity. This study compares two second cities, Philadelphia (U.S.) and Manchester (U.K.), from 1790 to the present. Data analysis focuses on the spatial structure of corporations, activities of immigrant associations, public initiatives to attract foreign investment and tourism, and public statements about globalization and local politics. Data sources include archival materials on infrastructure projects, festivals and political controversies, business directories, histories of congregations and migrant communities, planning documents, biographies of notable figures, shipping registers, newspapers, population and industrial censuses and annual reports and other records of a variety of public and non-profit organizations. |
