Framing Spaces, Asserting Values: Developing the Global City

Achieving global city status has become an apparent priority for city leaders worldwide. Many embrace the global city ideal as a frame for urban development. In arguments for development that align with the global city ideal, values are at play. The thesis tests the claim that global city development is associated with a convergence in “urban development values” across cities, as such values are expressed in long-range city plans. Tandem frame and content analyses are pursued to examine long-range city plans from four North American cities: Toronto and Chicago, both considered to be among the world’s most global cities and with known aspirations to enhance their global standings; and Dallas and Calgary, cities with global aspirations, but the relative positions of which in the global economy do not win them first or second-tier status in city rankings. As a further means of testing whether city leaders’ embrace of the global city ideal is associated with a convergence of values, an exploratory budget analysis is included. The study concludes that convergence in urban development values is limited. Local differences mediate the assumed homogenizing influences of globalization, despite shared aspirations of city leaders to enhance the global status of their respective cities. Longstanding cultures of development and planning persist, and urban development values remain distinct.