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Mexico City by most measures is a lot higher up in GDP than Singapore which makes sense given its size. Singapore is definitely better positioned as its entire reason for being is due to its great position. Singapore is a larger financial center though a lot of other industries would go to Mexico City. Tourism in Mexico is mostly domestic--domestic tourism in Singapore is, uh, well, I don't know how that works. GAWC has issues, but I can see how it ranks that way though there's a good chance that even under GAWC's criteria, Mexico City will be ranking higher in the near-ish future.
Singapore is not that large of a media producer--and it's definitely not on the scale of Mexico City. I think you might be really unfamiliar with this because your part of the world doesn't have much in Spanish speakers. Singapore has been trying to incubate a film industry (I almost signed on as an instructional assistant for film production years ago) and it's done okay. Not great, not terrible.
This canal. There's a wonderful thread of conspiracy theories about Singapore trying to or having been influencing Thai politics to prevent that from happening. I don't think it'll happen anytime soon. Like Mexico City going up a rank, maybe in the next few decades.
This is a pretty fun, odd matchup. Maybe we should make a separate thread.
Well slightly higher, which surprises me, but still low for it's massive population. Either way, GDP is merely one measure. Tokyo beats NYC by a big margin yet everyone would agree overall NYC is more internationally prominent.
In terms of 'domestic' tourism I would treat Singapore as a de-facto part of Malaysia. It gets a lot of Malaysians, but it attracts tourists from around the world. It being a major air-hub helps.
Yes, I am unfamiliar with Spanish speaking media, of course. Of course, Singapore is a nation state so it's market is somewhat restricted.
Eh, I think it's a bad idea. The distance shortened isn't much, it's not thousands of miles like the Suez or Panama, sounds like a rather silly idea if you ask me, and not because I feel it would threaten shipping in the region. There is still a lot of shipping going south from Singapore towards Indonesia and of course Australia. Ships full of natural resources going up into China and in the near future India.
I think most people are just too unfamiliar with Mexico City, especially here. All I know is it's a huge city, sprawling, polluted, at a higher elevation, built on a lake-bed in the middle of which was an ancient Aztec city.
Well slightly higher, which surprises me, but still low for it's massive population. Either way, GDP is merely one measure. Tokyo beats NYC by a big margin yet everyone would agree overall NYC is more internationally prominent.
In terms of 'domestic' tourism I would treat Singapore as a de-facto part of Malaysia. It gets a lot of Malaysians, but it attracts tourists from around the world. It being a major air-hub helps.
Yes, I am unfamiliar with Spanish speaking media, of course. Of course, Singapore is a nation state so it's market is somewhat restricted.
Eh, I think it's a bad idea. The distance shortened isn't much, it's not thousands of miles like the Suez or Panama, sounds like a rather silly idea if you ask me, and not because I feel it would threaten shipping in the region. There is still a lot of shipping going south from Singapore towards Indonesia and of course Australia. Ships full of natural resources going up into China and in the near future India.
I think most people are just too unfamiliar with Mexico City, especially here. All I know is it's a huge city, sprawling, polluted, at a higher elevation, built on a lake-bed in the middle of which was an ancient Aztec city.
Depending on who's measuring and how they're measuring it, the GDP of Mexico City compared to the GDP of Singapore is either somewhat higher or very much higher. I agree it's just one measure and I think it's only one of a slew of other things that makes the comparison between Mexico City and Singapore interesting. Domestic tourism for Mexico means a nation of 113 million over a very broad area. I think a lot of people don't realize that Mexico is actually a relatively wealthy nation and stereotype Mexico to be poor and third world-ish.
I don't think there's ever been any studies that have said the Thai canal is a bad idea. There is no projection where it's not worth it, but somehow the stars have never quite aligned on the project. It's not Suez or Panama, but it is a substantial amount of time saved and fuel saved compared to going through the Straits of Malacca and having this would substantially affect Singapore's economy as most shipping bound for East Asia from Europe, the Middle East, South Asia and Africa goes through there and a substantial amount between South Asia and the west coast of the Americas also go through there. It's not all the shipping that goes through the Straits, but it is the bulk of it.
Mexico City is huge and sprawling. The air pollution isn't nearly as bad as it used to be. The city is amazing.
Last edited by OyCrumbler; 12-21-2013 at 01:04 PM..
1. London
2. Hong Kong
3. New York
4. Paris
5. Tokyo
Hong Kong is just as world class as any of those 4 alpha cities, but it's more international than Tokyo and everyone speaks English. Hong Kong is more exciting than Tokyo and New York in my opinion. To me, London is the clear winner. No other city offers the balance of diversity, history, beauty, culture, elegance, food, vibe, variety, interesting layout, close proximity to other interesting places for a weekend getaway (if you get bored you're in Paris in 2 hours) etc. that London provides. It's always been the center of the world because of England's universal cultural influence throughout history.
1. London
2. Hong Kong
3. New York
4. Paris
5. Tokyo
Hong Kong is just as world class as any of those 4 alpha cities, but it's more international than Tokyo and everyone speaks English. Hong Kong is more exciting than Tokyo and New York in my opinion. To me, London is the clear winner. No other city offers the balance of diversity, history, beauty, culture, elegance, food, vibe, variety, interesting layout, close proximity to other interesting places for a weekend getaway (if you get bored you're in Paris in 2 hours) etc. that London provides. It's always been the center of the world because of England's universal cultural influence throughout history.
Parts of this is true, but have you even been to NYC or researched about NYC? I know a exchange student from a city right next to Hong Kong and he would always tell me how in china there always trying to copy things from other countries and how its a one world society. I think he over exaggerated a bit but when i went to Hong Kong it kind of reflected what he said, don't get me wrong the city is going through a huge boom in buildings but Hong Kong is not like NYC, you don't see the 10 subway performers break dancing, you don't see all the different cultures influenced there, you don't see the history its like everything is too new.
The Hong Kong street vibe is like New York's without the tedious carnival of crazies that is the NY sidewalk experience. It does the Blade Runner feel of vast crowds constrained by steel-concrete monoliths so much better IMO.
The Hong Kong street vibe is like New York's without the tiresomely psychotic carnival of crazies that is the NY sidewalk experience. It does the Blade Runner feel of vast crowds constrained by steel-concrete monoliths so much better IMO.
I can't really explain it, its much different than NYC, maybe its NYC grit and vibe and so many different cultures, in Hong Kong its majority Chinese, tall modern buildings, no grit and just too clean for me.
Parts of this is true, but have you even been to NYC or researched about NYC? I know a exchange student from a city right next to Hong Kong and he would always tell me how in china there always trying to copy things from other countries and how its a one world society. I think he over exaggerated a bit but when i went to Hong Kong it kind of reflected what he said, don't get me wrong the city is going through a huge boom in buildings but Hong Kong is not like NYC, you don't see the 10 subway performers break dancing, you don't see all the different cultures influenced there, you don't see the history its like everything is too new.
I've lived in London and Hong Kong for 6 months each for work and have lived in New York for the last 12 years. I travel frequently for work so luckily I get to visit these cities a few times a year. NYC is more diverse obviously, but to me at least from an American perspective Hong Kong is just more lively, fun and interesting - Lan Kwai Fong on the weekend, the French expat areas on Hollywood road in Sheung Wan, walking through the market stalls in Kowloon etc. The problem with NY is it doesn't have that sense that there is something new around every corner that cities like Hong Kong, London, Tokyo and Paris have because NY is built on a grid. The twists, turns and narrow streets make for much more interesting neighborhoods and an overall city experience because you can actually get lost and discover new things. You can't really get lost in Manhattan. Hong Kong Island is fairly modern but there is lots of history in Kowloon and on the outskirts of the city. You might not get the cultural diversity in Hong Kong, but it is a global financial hub with many expats so you can still get any type of food you want (Turkish, Pakistani, Nigerian etc) and it is becoming more international every year. Just walk around central at lunch and half the people in suits are westerners.
Also, in the next 20 years, I think Shanghai and Dubai will be 6 and 7 respectively and maybe even higher.
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