Globalization and World Cities Research Network
Encyclopedia
The Globalization and World Cities Research Network, commonly abbreviated to GaWC, is a think tank
based in the Geography
department at Loughborough University
in England
, that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization
.
GaWC was founded by Peter J. Taylor
in 1998, and is best known for its categorization of world cities into alpha, beta and gamma tiers, based upon their international connectedness.
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
based in the Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
department at Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization
Globalization
Globalization refers to the increasingly global relationships of culture, people and economic activity. Most often, it refers to economics: the global distribution of the production of goods and services, through reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, export fees, and import...
.
GaWC was founded by Peter J. Taylor
Peter J. Taylor
Peter James Taylor is an English geographer. Born in Tring in Hertfordshire, he was Professor of Political Geography at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne between 1970 and 1996, since when he has been Professor of Geography at Loughborough University...
in 1998, and is best known for its categorization of world cities into alpha, beta and gamma tiers, based upon their international connectedness.