Atlas of Hinterworlds

GaWC logo
  
 
  Gateways into GaWC

Hinterworlds

P.J. Taylor

There is a long tradition in conventional urban geography of measuring the hinterlands of towns and cities. The concept of hinterworld has been created to describe the worldwide pattern of connections between a given world city and other world cities under conditions of contemporary globalization.

The concept was introduced in Research Bulletin 17 and is refined in Research Bulletin 89. Examples of its use can be found in Research Bulletin 58 and the Amsterdam Report. The maps in this atlas are all based on the methodology presented in Research Bulletin 89 using the city/global service firms data for 2000 described in Research Bulletin 43.

In summary the method is as follows:

  1. We have selected the top 123 cities in terms of global network connectivity and measure the connectivity between each city and the other 122 cities.
  1. These individual city inter-linkages closely reflect the overall pattern of global network connectivity (i.e. every city is most connected to either London or New York).
  1. For each city we regress its connectivities with other cities against their global network connectivity.
  1. We compute the residuals from the regression line and these are interpreted as a city being either over-linked (positive residuals) to another city (relative to its global network connectivity) or under-linked (negative residuals). It is these residuals that are mapped to show a city’s hinterworld.
  1. The standard error of estimate indicates how close the scatter of points is to the line: it is interpreted in this context of indicating the specificity of a city’s hinterworld (i.e. zero would indicate a hinterworld exactly the same as the global network connectivity pattern and therefore the higher the standard error the more unlike a city’s hinterworld is from the general pattern of global connectivities. In the analyses, standard errors range from 0.013 (Madrid) to 0.067 (Indianapolis)).
  1. The same ordinal scale is used for all maps to facilitate simple comparisons between hinterwords. An initial discussion of comparisons can be found in chapter 5 of P.J. Taylor (2004) World City Network: a Global Urban Analysis (London: Routledge).
  1. The maps are in cartogram form to show each city in equally. The cartogram places cities in their approximate relative geographical positions.

    The codes for cities are: AB Abu Dhabi; AD Adelaide; AK Auckland; AM Amsterdam; AS Athens; AT Atlanta; AN Antwerp; BA Buenos Aires; BB Brisbane; BC Barcelona; BD Budapest; BG Bogota; BJ Beijing; BK Bangkok; BL Berlin; BM Birmingham; BN Bangalore; BR Brussels; BS Boston; BT Beirut; BU Bucharest; BV Bratislava; CA Cairo; CC Calcutta; CG Calgary; CH Chicago; CL Charlotte; CN Chennai; CO Cologne; CP Copenhagen; CR Caracas; CS Casablanca; CT Cape Town; CV Cleveland; DA Dallas; DB Dublin; DS Dusseldorf; DT Detroit; DU Dubai; DV Denver; FR Frankfurt; GN Geneva; GZ Guangzhou; HB Hamburg; HC Ho Chi Minh City; HK Hong Kong; HL Helsinki; HM Hamilton(Bermuda); HS Houston; IN Indianapolis; IS Istanbul; JB Johannesburg; JD Jeddah; JK Jakarta; KC Kansas City; KL Kuala Lumpur; KR Karachi; KU Kuwait; KV Kiev; LA Los Angeles; LB Lisbon; LG Lagos; LM Lima; LN London; LX Luxembourg; LY Lyons; MB Mumbai; MC Manchester; MD Madrid; ME Melbourne; MI Miami; ML Milan; MM Manama; MN Manila; MP Minneapolis; MS Moscow; MT Montreal; MU Munich; MV Montevideo; MX Mexico City; NC Nicosia; ND New Delhi; NR Nairobi; NS Nassau; NY New York; OS Oslo; PA Paris; PB Pittsburgh; PD Portland; PE Perth; PH Philadelphia; PL Port Louis; PN Panama City; PR Prague; QU Quito; RJ Rio de Janeiro; RM Rome; RT Rotterdam; RY Riyadh; SA Santiago; SD San Diego; SE Seattle; SF San Francisco; SG Singapore; SH Shanghai; SK Stockholm; SL St Louis; SO Sofia; SP Sao Paulo; ST Stuttgart; SU Seoul; SY Sydney; TA Tel Aviv; TP Taipei; TR Toronto; TY Tokyo; VI Vienna; VN Vancouver; WC Washington DC; WL Wellington; WS Warsaw; ZG Zagreb; ZU Zurich (see also map of city codes)

The result is an atlas containing maps of hinterworlds for 123 cities. These are listed alphabetically below (small images indicate current availability of maps). The cities most and least linked to a given city are listed along with the measure of specificity.

 

html

jpg

ABU DHABI
Most over-linked city: Auckland (0.103)
Most under-linked city: Detroit (-0.084)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.031


ADELAIDE

Most over-linked city: Perth (0.171)
Most under-linked city: Sofia (-0.087)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.043


AMSTERDAM
Most over-linked city: Beijing (0.048)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.043)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


ANTWERP
Most over-linked city: Cologne (0.112)
Most under-linked city: Taipei (-0.077)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.034


ATHENS
Most over-linked city: Istanbul (0.080)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.098)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.034


ATLANTA
Most over-linked city: Boston (0.110)
Most under-linked city: Athens (-0.046)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.027


AUCKLAND
Most over-linked city: Montreal (0.046)
Most under-linked city: Luxembourg City (-0.056)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


Auckland hinterworld

BANGALORE
Most over-linked city: New Delhi (0.122)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.105)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.033


BANGKOK
Most over-linked city: Tokyo (0.058)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.056)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


BARCELONA
Most over-linked city: Rome (0.034)
Most under-linked city: Lima (-0.045)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


BEIJING
Most over-linked city: Guangzhou (0.071)
Most under-linked city: Montreal (-0.051)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.025


BEIRUT
Most over-linked city: Athens (0.076)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.086)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.034


BERLIN
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.168)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.108)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.040


BIRMINGHAM
Most over-linked city: Manchester (0.137)
Most under-linked city: Tokyo (-0.092)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.046


BOGOTA
Most over-linked city: Caracas (0.067)
Most under-linked city: Stuttgart (-0.034)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.018


BOSTON
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.125)
Most under-linked city: Athens (-0.092)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


BRATISLAVA
Most over-linked city: Prague (0.102)
Most under-linked city: Chicago (-0.106)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.043


BRISBANE
Most over-linked city: Perth (0.122)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.101)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


BRUSSELS
Most over-linked city: Frankfurt (0.038)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.032)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.014


BUCHAREST
Most over-linked city: Johannesburg (0.109)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.108)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.048


BUDAPEST
Most over-linked city: Prague (0.097)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.075)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.031


BUENOS AIRES
Most over-linked city: Caracas (0.059)
Most under-linked city: Seattle (-0.039)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


CAIRO
Most over-linked city: Beirut (0.068)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.088)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.030


CALCUTTA
Most over-linked city: Chennai (0.103)
Most under-linked city: Chicago (-0.093)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


CALGARY
Most over-linked city: Montreal (0.129)
Most under-linked city: Luxembourg (-0.105)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


CAPE TOWN
Most over-linked city: Brisbane (0.073)
Most under-linked city: Ho Chi Minh City (-0.074)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.035


CARACAS
Most over-linked city: Buenos Aires (0.086)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.045)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.020


CASABLANCA
Most over-linked city: Tel Aviv (0.126)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.102)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.050


CHARLOTTE
Most over-linked city: Minneapolis (0.169)
Most under-linked city: Warsaw (-0.131)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.060


CHENNAI
Most over-linked city: Calcutta (0.103)
Most under-linked city: Charlotte (-0.093)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.041


CHICAGO
Most over-linked city: Boston (0.066)
Most under-linked city: Budapest (-0.038)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.019


CLEVELAND
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.192)
Most under-linked city: Manama (-0.104)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.059


COLOGNE
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.159)
Most under-linked city: Manila (-0.083)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.049


COPENHAGEN
Most over-linked city: Helsinki (0.072)
Most under-linked city: Manama (-0.063)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.025


DALLAS
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.114)
Most under-linked city: Beirut (-0.064)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


DENVER
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.144)
Most under-linked city: Warsaw (-0.096)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.047


DETROIT
Most over-linked city: Cleveland (0.104)
Most under-linked city: Nassau (-0.079)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.039


DUBAI
Most over-linked city: Prague (0.065)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.100)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.026


DUBLIN
Most over-linked city: Milan (0.035)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.065)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.016


DUSSELDORF
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.115)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.056)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.030


FRANKFURT
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.072)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.057)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


GENEVA
Most over-linked city: Rio de Janeiro (0.072)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.049)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


GUANGZHOU
Most over-linked city: Ho Chi Minh City (0.171)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.125)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.051


HAMBURG
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.128)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.065)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.030


HAMILTON
Most over-linked city: London (0.116)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.076)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.038


HELSINKI
Most over-linked city: Copenhagen (0.101)
Most under-linked city: Luxembourg City (-0.069)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


HO CHI MINH CITY
Most over-linked city: Guangzhou (0.141)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.099)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.042


HONG KONG
Most over-linked city: Beijing (0.049)
Most under-linked city: Auckland (-0.040)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.018


HOUSTON
Most over-linked city: San Francisco (0.076)
Most under-linked city: Prague (-0.054)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.031


INDIANAPOLIS
Most over-linked city: Minneapolis (0.183)
Most under-linked city: Sofia (-0.125)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.067


ISTANBUL
Most over-linked city: Johannesburg (0.063)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.060)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.029


JAKARTA
Most over-linked city: Bangkok (0.072)
Most under-linked city: Miami (-0.047)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.021


JEDDAH
Most over-linked city: New York (0.114)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.097)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


JOHANNESBURG
Most over-linked city: Warsaw (0.058)
Most under-linked city: Denver (-0.043)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.021


KANSAS CITY
Most over-linked city: Dallas (0.162)
Most under-linked city: Manama (-0.090)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.054


KARACHI
Most over-linked city: Bucharest (0.095)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.108)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.038


KIEV
Most over-linked city: Warsaw (0.089)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.099)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.038


KUALA LUMPUR
Most over-linked city: Taipei (0.060)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.056)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.021


KUWAIT
Most over-linked city: Tel Aviv (0.108)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.127)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.053


LAGOS
Most over-linked city: Nairobi (0.090)
Most under-linked city: Paris (-0.084)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


Lagos hinterworld

LIMA
Most over-linked city: Tel Aviv (0.192)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.084)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


LISBON
Most over-linked city: Vienna (0.039)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.049)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.019


LONDON
Most over-linked city: Washington DC (0.061)
Most under-linked city: Athens (-0.038)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


LOS ANGELES
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.071)
Most under-linked city: Amsterdam (-0.043)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.021


LUXEMBOURG CITY
Most over-linked city: Berlin (0.099)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.080)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.035


LYON
Most over-linked city: Hamburg (0.104)
Most under-linked city: Ho Chi Minh City (-0.097)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.042


MADRID
Most over-linked city: Milan (0.036)
Most under-linked city: Vancouver (-0.037)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.013


MANAMA
Most over-linked city: Jakarta (0.097)
Most under-linked city: Miami (-0.078)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.038


MANCHESTER
Most over-linked city: Birmingham (0.126)
Most under-linked city: Guangzhou (-0.087)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.043

 


MANILA
Most over-linked city: Bangkok (0.077)
Most under-linked city: Munich (-0.061)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.025


MELBOURNE
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.057)
Most under-linked city: Lyon (-0.038)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.020


MEXICO CITY
Most over-linked city: Seoul (0.039)
Most under-linked city: Barcelona (-0.044)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


MIAMI
Most over-linked city: Dallas (0.0.049)
Most under-linked city: Kuala Lumpur (-0.036)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.020


MILAN
Most over-linked city: Frankfurt (0.039)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.044)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.014


MINNEAPOLIS
Most over-linked city: Charlotte (0.121)
Most under-linked city: Tel Aviv (-0.077)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


MONTEVIDEO
Most over-linked city: Santiago (0.096)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.120)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.039


MONTREAL
Most over-linked city: Boston (0.069)
Most under-linked city: Luxembourg (-0.074)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.028


MOSCOW
Most over-linked city: Budapest (0.070)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.043)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.023


MUMBAI
Most over-linked city: Shanghai (0.050)
Most under-linked city: Stockholm (-0.037)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.019


MUNICH
Most over-linked city: Berlin (0.140)
Most under-linked city: Manila (-0.071)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.037


NAIROBI
Most over-linked city: Cairo (0.099)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.107)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.046


NASSAU
Most over-linked city: Lima (0.073)
Most under-linked city: Dusseldorf (-0.114)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


NEW DELHI
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.073)
Most under-linked city: Beirut (-0.039)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


NEW YORK
Most over-linked city: Washington DC (0.062)
Most under-linked city: Athens (-0.036)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.018


NICOSIA
Most over-linked city: Copenhagen (0.117)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.114)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.048


OSLO
Most over-linked city: Copenhagen (0.116)
Most under-linked city: Portland (-0.071)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.029


PANAMA CITY
Most over-linked city: Quito (0.081)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.086)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.034


PARIS
Most over-linked city: Frankfurt (0.037)
Most under-linked city: Auckland (-0.032)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


PERTH
Most over-linked city: Adelaide (0.146)
Most under-linked city: Sofia (-0.081)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.038


PHILADELPHIA
Most over-linked city: Dallas (0.120)
Most under-linked city: Dusseldorf (-0.076)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.044


PITTSBURGH
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.176)
Most under-linked city: Istanbul (-0.097)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.061


PORTLAND
Most over-linked city: Seattle (0.160)
Most under-linked city: Copenhagen (-0.116)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.049


PORT LOUIS
Most over-linked city: Hamilton (0.077)
Most under-linked city: Philadelphia (-0.082)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.034


PRAGUE
Most over-linked city: Budapest (0.092)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.064)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.028


QUITO
Most over-linked city: Athens (0.110)
Most under-linked city: Chicago (-0.105)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


RIO DE JANEIRO
Most over-linked city: Zurich (0.062)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.048)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


RIYADH
Most over-linked city: Casablanca (0.069)
Most under-linked city: Singapore (-0.072)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.026


ROME
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.058)
Most under-linked city: Tokyo (-0.048)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


ROTTERDAM
Most over-linked city: London (0.089)
Most under-linked city: Taipei (-0.064)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.032


SAN DIEGO
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.193)
Most under-linked city: Prague (-0.094)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.050


SAN FRANCISCO
Most over-linked city: Boston ( 0.086)
Most under-linked city: Amsterdam (-0.044)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.024


SANTIAGO
Most over-linked city: Caracas (0.079)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.045)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.022


SAO PAULO
Most over-linked city: Bangkok (0.047)
Most under-linked city: Copenhagen (-0.033)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


SEATTLE
Most over-linked city: Dallas (0.117)
Most under-linked city: Munich (-0.079)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.039


SEOUL
Most over-linked city: Beijing (0.068)
Most under-linked city: Barcelona (-0.063)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.023


SHANGHAI
Most over-linked city: Guangzhou (0.074)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.072)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.025


SINGAPORE
Most over-linked city: Beijing (0.044)
Most under-linked city: Auckland (-0.039)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.016


SOFIA
Most over-linked city: Athens (0.158)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.170)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.064


ST LOUIS
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.141)
Most under-linked city: Warsaw (-0.086)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.053


STOCKHOLM
Most over-linked city: Copenhagen (0.048)
Most under-linked city: Tokyo (-0.056)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.018


STUTTGART
Most over-linked city: Munich (0.214)
Most under-linked city: New York (-0.097)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.045


SYDNEY
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.049)
Most under-linked city: Hamburg (-0.034)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


TAIPEI
Most over-linked city: Bangkok (0.087)
Most under-linked city: Boston (-0.050)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.024


TEL AVIV
Most over-linked city: Sofia (0.119)
Most under-linked city: Munich (-0.145)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.055


TOKYO
Most over-linked city: Washington, DC (0.046)
Most under-linked city: Toronto (-0.048)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.017


TORONTO
Most over-linked city: Boston (0.052)
Most under-linked city: Berlin (-0.038)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.015


VANCOUVER
Most over-linked city: Montreal (0.095)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.099)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.036


VIENNA
Most over-linked city: Helsinki (0.061)
Most under-linked city: Dallas (-0.043)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.023


WARSAW
Most over-linked city: Budapest (0.072)
Most under-linked city: Los Angeles (-0.069)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.030


WASHINGTON, DC
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.079)
Most under-linked city: Dubai (-0.069)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.027


WELLINGTON
Most over-linked city: Auckland (0.070)
Most under-linked city: Frankfurt (-0.080)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.028


ZAGREB
Most over-linked city: Budapest (0.096)
Most under-linked city: Washington, DC (-0.119)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.047


ZURICH
Most over-linked city: Chicago (0.040)
Most under-linked city: Seattle (-0.034)
Specificity of hinterworld: 0.014