Alpha, Beta and Gamma cities (updated 2013)

Every few years, cities are rated ranked by the Globalization and World Rankings Research Institute. It is considered the leading institute ranking world cities.

Cities are ranked into Alpha, Beta and Gamma cities by taking into account many factors; economic factors are deemed more important than cultural or political factors though in this ranking.

Here’s a list with the latest data from 2010. Spotted by Locals’ cities (most of “our” 46 cities are listed) are linked.

Alpha++ world cities: London, New York

Alpha+ world cities: Hong Kong, Paris, Singapore, Tokyo, Shanghai, Chicago, Dubai, Sydney

Alpha world cities: Milan, Beijing, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Madrid, Mumbai, Los Angeles, Moscow, Frankfurt, Mexico City, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Brussels, Jakarta, San Francisco, Washington

Alpha− world cities: Miami, Dublin, Melbourne, Zurich, New Delhi, Munich, Boston, Warsaw, Dallas, Vienna, Atlanta, Barcelona, Bangkok, Taipei, Santiago, Lisbon, Philadelphia, Johannesberg

Beta+ world cities: Düsseldorf, Stockholm, Prague, Montreal, Rome, Hamburg, Manila, Houston, Berlin, Athens, Tel Aviv, Bangalore, Copenhagen, Caïro, Bogota, Vancouver

Beta world cities: Budapest, Beirut, Luxembourg, Guangzhou, Seattle, Caracas, Ho Chi Minh City, Auckland, Oslo, Kiev, Chennai, Bucharest, Manchester, Karachi, Lima, Cape Town, Riyadh, Montevideo, Minneapolis

Beta− world cities: Abu Dhabi, Nicosia, Birmingham (UK), Rio de Janeiro, Brisbane, Geneva, Calcutta, Detroit, Denver, Monterrey, Bratislava, Port Louis, Casablanca, Manama, Stuttgart, Sofia, Cologne, St Louis, Helsinki, Panama City, San Diego, Lagos, Perth, Shenzhen, Cleveland, San Juan, Calgary, Guatemala City, Osaka.

Gamma+ world cities: Glasgow, Nairobi, Bristol, Hanoi, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Antwerp, Doha, Lahore, Baltimore, Jeddah, Edinburgh, Amman, Hyderabad (IN), Zagreb, Adelaide, Kuwait, Portland, Belgrade, San Jose (CR), Tunis, San Jose (US), Riga

Gamma world cities: Valencia (SP), Kansas City, Phoenix, Almaty, Guadalajara, Lyon, Quito, St. Petersburg, Leeds, Santo Domingo, San Salvador, Vilnius, Rotterdam, Tampa, Columbus, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Edmonton

Gamma− world cities: Tallinn, Pune, Porto, Porto Alegre, Orlando, Gothenburgh, Marseille, Ottawa, Colombo, Ljubljana, Tegucigalpa, Richmond, Islamabad, Muscat, Duran, Austin, Belfast, Guayaquil, Nagoya, Turin, Southampton, Milwaukee, Wellington, Curitiba, Accra, Georgetown (CI)

The GAWC insitute also created a very cool graphic of interconnectivity between these world cities (PDF, large!).

Because the latest ranking that can be found dates from 2010, we think it’s about time for an update by GAWC – especially many cities in China & India seem to be missing!