Communist China staked its economic rise on manufacturing goods for export. When the Cold War ended, free-market neo-liberalism became the preferred path for economic development around the world. What really changed for Boston and cities around the world was the intensified globalization that started during the 1980s.

Just as Boston had been one of the first American cities to industrialize and then suffer the loss of its industries, it became one of the first to adapt to the high tech and service economies and secure a foothold in the emerging global economy. Yet even Kevin White could not have foreseen the transformations ahead. There were such things as “world-class cities”-and he wanted Boston to become part of the discussion. Though motivated by boosterism, Mayor White sensed the changes that were happening to his city. White has shown that he can do two things well – win re-election and make Boston look better to visiting delegations than it really is.” He chided White for camouflaging “Boston’s social and racial problems, its dirty streets and its poorer neighborhoods,” as well as Boston’s being “an unfriendly, even hostile city.” And so long as this is true, maybe Kevin White better scratch all-inclusive references to some kind of worldwide urban renaissance.” Globe columnist Robert A. A Boston Globe editorial entitled “A Great Dirty City” read: “Despite all the fancy hotels, the glass highrises, and developments on the drawingboard, Boston is a city run down at the heels. Some of the local reaction to the Great Cities Conference was derisive. He invited mayors from 36 large cities, including Athens, Hong Kong, Dublin, Paris, Rome, Jerusalem, Bombay, London, and Istanbul, for a week-long conclave held at Faneuil Hall, MIT, and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.

In 1980, the 350 th anniversary of Boston’s founding, Mayor Kevin White introduced the idea that Boston was a “world class city.” Mayor White organized the Great Cities of the World Conference to highlight Boston’s urban revitalization achievements and discuss strategies for redevelopment with other leading international cities. City Planning-Urban Affairs Program Boston University SeptemCopyright © 2019 by James C.

What is a global city defined by