Twincities

2016 Ameni Kabboudi

AN URBAN OVERVIEW ON GLOBAL CITIES THE IDENTICAL TWINS Manish Srivastava Advanced Real Estate Development & Investment Transactions

Kabboudi 1

From Carthage to Athens, Baghdad to Damascus, history has proven that urban cities have always dominated the entire country as a state-city. Human activity and trade within neighboring countries have been the engine of the most powerful civilizations. Between the rise and fall of nations, new cities are created with a completely different standard.

Globalization has been a phenomenon for the new decade whether it involves the fast pace of communication or the concentration of economy. This phenomenon was the trendy topic that many countries tried to either go with or swim against it. We talk about powerful cities that shape the global economy rather than countries. Urban planners and policy makers need to view the world from a more focused loop targeting cities rather than countries. Investment decision and regulations are tailored according to cities which are an atomic network and well-connected metropolises. In this decade cities make countries and not the opposite. To list a few, Dubai, Singapore, Luxembourg and Shanghai are cities that dominate the countries.

Those cities not only have a bigger reputation than the county itself but they are so powerful that they dwarf their countries if we take their contribution in playing a major role in shaping the economy, the international connectivity and being the ultimate cultural hub of the whole nation. According to UN last report, urbanization in the world has reached 80% which is a record in the 21st Century that was never witnessed before. Surprisingly, the largest 300 main cities worldwide accounts for about half of the economic output where only fifth of the world population lives there. This raises the challenge to question the future of urbanization whether the agglomeration of cities is the engine of economies or the structure of the city is the main driver. If we look at alpha ++ or alpha + cities, we do know why people give up the comfortable life they can have back home and decide to reside in places with less fortunate condition and higher salary that can be vexed by the high cost of living. If you ask a temporary visitor or migrant who moved from Eastern Europe to London for example, they will tell you there is something magical and special about this metropolis. Indeed, the global effect that ranges from business activity to cultural variety makes these cities unique.

However, we see more skyscrapers pop in a jiffy in each major city and an urban competition between cities to have the title of being home to the highest buildings, skylines of many

Kabboudi 2 different metropolis look alike. Interestingly, the big apple which many assume has the biggest number of skyscrapers in the world, ranks second after Hong Kong. In fact, as you wander these cities, you start questioning the urban planning between a need of getting a foot in the global scale and the twisting resemblance that start losing the uniqueness. Thus, does globalization fuse some poison into reshaping the identity of each city from architectural point of view? How urban planning and design has killed the individuality of big cities and make it look like identical twins spread out across the globe?

Walking in the streets of Hong Kong, London, New York or Chicago, one can notice that these skyscrapers and the new modern buildings have been a reminder and a confusing sign of which country we are located at. Globalization is a multidimensional phenomenon that encompasses not only economic components but also cultural, ideological, political and other facets does not only concentrate in the fact that buildings look alike or how real estate development is identical but also the operational system within these cities. In this paper, the main focus is not on small cities who start following the trend but the global cities which start looking alike as they are going through an economic boom at the same time. Modern transportation as well is another issue. While some cities have developed organically, prime cities evolved differently; rivalry might be the main issue that made the skyline of many global cities look like identical twins. If you take a snapshot from a portion of Shanghai and another one from Kuwait City, you will notice how much of similarities some of the skyscrapers are. For this matter, we will take in this paper a comparison of clustered cities, where rivalry was the main issue for this rise of a common skyline and similar buildings all over the area. The Challenge for a city to position itself as a global one has been the main concern of many governments. If we take the example of Auckland and Sydney, Sydney has been the pioneer where Auckland has always tried to copy what Sydney adds to its skyline with being better and bigger which was a very active real estate development in the 70’s and 80’s. Sydney tower was the tallest building in the southern hemisp here, built in 1981, in 1994, Auckland tower was constructed, an almost identical tower, named in the same fashion, but to steal the title of the tallest building in the southern hemisphere. The more recently, Sydney is converting its main street in its CBD, named after king George, into a pedestrian and light rail road and so in Auckland now is planning to do the same to their CBD main street, named

Kabboudi 3 after queen Victoria. Barcelona is another city that draws a lot of attention with 7.5 million visitor each year and considered the backbone of Spain’s real estate and even economy’s recovery nowadays and is the 3rd biggest city in Europe in volume of real estate transaction in 2016 which makes it a global city even though it is made on smaller scale. This city for instance was an enhanced version of Madrid. There is no doubt that most global cities share a lot in common and most of them came as a tailored and updated version of a portion of other cities. This is a phenomenon that is not new today but in any booming time, inherently, there is always a bigger influence that make urban planners or usually the person in power inspired and use such model and replicate it. For example, Champs Elysee that was planned in 1749 in Paris was a model duplicated in Mexico City, La Reforma in early 1904 classified under art nouveau style but this restructure was imposed on Mexico City during the French occupation of Mexico.

This copying phenomenon which travels across continents and time has been more obvious in today’s time where not only rivalry has to be blamed but this trend is quite obvious in certain areas such as CBD, residential and probably less common in touristic places where individuality of cities is slightly kept despite the big foreign influence. This goes beyond the urban planning of certain street or district to involve the classical parks, the larger old park, the new development of a peninsula connected over a pedestrian bridge and the list can go on. Urban planners, scholars and authors are even more concerned about the future of cities as the rapidity of change in the whole urban design of cities. It is a fact that mimic of cities was, is and will continue. “The future of cities is not necessarily as bleak as the common fatalism might suggest – there is a future as well as a past to large cities…the future of cities should be high on the political agenda (Brian Robson, Professor of Geography, University of Manchester, UK 1987). This being said, a willingness or a power in executing decision is the main driver in building a city. To give another example about the similarities between global cities, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia which started with the twin tower (Petronas Tower) with an intention to compete as a global city but with the desire to keep an Asian component into it. This has been confirmed by architects that confirm the Petronas Tower was a successes to bring a modern touch to the city but with preserving its Asian element.

Singapore on the other side of rivalry has been always compared to Kuala Lumpur. From an

Kabboudi 4 architectural point of view, the British influence is so obvious in both cities although Singapore was better at keeping it with an amazing bay waterfront change that made Singapore established itself as a major player in a more forward thinking in architecture while Malaysia kept its identity by preserving its shop house areas and Arab streets to show how much the city holds to its cultural and religious ties.

Homogenization is another pattern that is obvious in most global cities nowadays in either commercial or retail sector in real estate. By building a model or creating a city from scratch is another form to appeal to local residents with attracting the international corporate or expats to flood into the city by providing a similar atmosphere that provide the comfort zone of residents of what sets the international standard or what is more familiar and appealing. In fact, in cities like New York, Tokyo or London where development is made, an extension has been another issue where similar ideas about development have all come together with textual allusions and iconic towers affixed to central business district. That is why homogenization comes from a strategic vision that is shared by the people who have economic and political power to share and reshape the entire urban area. A good example would be the Middle East and mainly Saudi Arabia which knocked down the old buildings in a trial to rebuild cities from scratch with the intention to remodel the entire urban plan of cities that might not be as competent as global cities and create a city that can compete on a global scale without the need to preserve any historical background. Unlike it, Sydney has been working on preserving the historical façades of many buildings while developing the interior.

Furthermore, building a brand is another key factor why cities look alike, it is a rivalry between cities, and the vision of building a well-connected cities that promote a creative space with cultural institutions and financial activity. This a race that is continuing to pursue where New York reigns on global cities ranking “We see ourselves as being in a competitive race with other cities from around the world,” Daniel Doctoroff, the former New York City deputy mayor for economic development, recently said to a meeting of high- level cultural administrators and CEOs. “Many of [them] are trying to copy us, whether deliberately, or in some cases, unintentionally….They’re stealing our cultural institutions.

Kabboudi 5 There’s a Guggenheim all over the world now.� In fact mega trends in cities are driving the whole economy and appetite of investors as well.

In addition, Ego is the ultimate purpose that all cities look almost alike, Dubai for instance which is relatively a new hub was able to position itself as a modern and very trendy city. Transportation is another aspect that is implemented in urban planning design and start having that wave of similar aspect. Over the last 15 years, Dubai has become a city of superlatives- the tallest building, the largest shopping mall and the biggest manmade island.

To add to the record, Dubai airport was ranked the busiest international airport in 2014 beating down London Heathrow to be classified the biggest hub with over 70 million passengers and expected to hit 100 million by 2020. Not content enough with this record, Dubai is building a bigger airport as part of giant economic hub with an area that is almost double the size of Hong Kong. This massive project is made by an excuse to connect Dubai to other part of the world by rail, road and make it the first hub between Asia, Africa and the Middle East. This mega infrastructure project is making Dubai to hold the reputation of a cornerstone and as a global center over the next decade.(Knight Frank, Global Cities, Wealth Report 2016)

Not far from there, Beijing is working on a new international airport that is expected to be complete in 2019. This airport is expected to nurture a new CBD in Daxing District.

This rivalry between global cities is continuing and infrastructure is the main engine to drive this trend towards a more appealing city. Like many other Asian cities, Beijing is undergoing a strategy of decentralization to tackle the shortage of land and this reason has even pushed shanghai to develop underground with a development of zone B underground that encompass a complex of entertainment venues and pedestrian passageway. This is estimated to be a new trend in other Chinese Cities that will grow underground. Still in Asia and manly when it comes to dealing with CBD which start having similar towers and an identical urban plan, Bangkok’s CBD is branching out in three directions, Kuala Lumpur as well is expanding its rail network to reduce the estimated commute hours between the city and Singapore from 9.5 to 2.5 which will help in achieving a more efficient economy and better connectivity. Still in Asia, India is actually implanting effective plans, Mumbai for instance is planning a transit-

Kabboudi 6 oriented infrastructure development that connects the western freight corridor with the eastern with a total length of 2064 miles covering different states. This is another proof that cities are drawing the future and not countries. According to Mile Sales, the chief executive of TH Real Estate “The impact of megatrends are more apparent at the city rather than the country level, so any strategy needs to be focused on cities in order to provide investors with better clarity”(the 2016-report-global Cities 2016, Knight Frank). There is no longer a difference between a developing country and a developed country when it comes to the fierce competition of cities to have a global scale.

The connectivity of the world and the wide presence of international patterns has lifted the face of many cities that start looking like identical twins across continents.

According to Architect Zaha Hadid “as an architect, your client is no longer a single person or type of person, your client is everyone. “This might seem true from ethical stand point but the city’s skyline start looking alike and towers start arising and many of them lack the beauty of architecture. No wonder that many of these towers are not appealing to the eye, to state a few example, New Yorker skyscrapers which are described as pencil skyscrapers becoming the new trend in Manhattan skyline. In china as well the concern start rising as many cities within the same country start looking alike, "Many Chinese cities used to be different, but they are monotonous in looks nowadays. More efforts should be made to protect their unique characteristics," said Sha Zukang, head of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

This phenomenon of identity theft or identical twins effect, is quite similar and as pointed out in the first pages of the paper is not a new trend. A very classic example would be the met life tower in New York and the bell Tower in Venice. This architectural duplication exists more now. In this manner, the Chrysler Building and Al Kazim Twin Towers in Dubai or the Northeast Asia trade tower in Korea and the world trade center in New York (Sky high City). This is not a lack of creativity or a sudden copying but it is a phenomenon that is required or set by global standards. Many argue that cities do not look alike but in fact they do especially if you look at central business district. Globalization has contributed in the fact that big metropolis do have an existent element in distracting the

Kabboudi 7 uniqueness of cities, “solid linkages between growth, modernity, and globalization; there is no question that technology will continue to contribute to these connections”. Large cities influence smaller settings, often absorbing them without necessarily annexing the lesser political units. (Yacher, L. "Globalization, Modernity, and the City." Choice 49.9 (2012).

This flow of ideas whether by developers, architects or urban designer, creates an urge to respond to a demand or even creating a supply to grab attention, has been a major component of why cities look alike. For whatever reason, to either reach a record in price sale of a product or to satisfy government’s officials support, developers have turned to wellknown architects in order to appeal to the prospective buyers or tenants, 8 spruce street developed by Gehry and other buildings designer by star Architects have not only contributed to the aesthetic side of buildings but also those architects have submitted their ideas in re-visioning a new center in London or Shanghai have contributed into drawing similarities between cities across the globe. Their traveling ideas and strategic visions implemented by developers or government officials has been the reason behind the homogenization of cities. It is hard to come up with new ideas and this is not due to the lack of creativity but architecture like any other art sector goes through phases and it is most likely that the modern era and demand to go global has implemented this issue. Globalization has created the need of “international style” that emerged from a need of a rebellious character that matches the industrial and technological revolution thus globalization “places a premium on systematization, flexibility and interchangeability. As commerce, transportation, communication and information become globalized, it argues for internationalized, innovative architecture transcending local conventions and constraints”. (Lewis, Roger K. "Will Forces of Globalization Overwhelm Traditional Local Architecture?") This needs of contemporary architecture has put many global cities into a disadvantage of following a specific style that can compete with the top tier cities. In fact the pressure that globalization has put on urban planning and design of cities is not only on the cultural part but also raise the concern of the familiarity of places. A traveler would be more comfortable staying in a familiar brand hotel and eat at an international restaurant rather than experience the unexpected . In fact, this creates a need of unification that can contribute to human’s decision making based on what is familiar. In architecture as well, the consumer is more comfortable

Kabboudi 8 “With fabulous photographs in slick magazines and professional journals, trend- conscious designers can scan and span the globe, sharing high-style concepts rendered in stylish materials. Glass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper, titanium and natural stone are readily available. If they can't be acquired locally, they can be imported.” (Lewis, Roger K. "Will Forces of Globalization Overwhelm Traditional Local Architecture?") That is why a building in London is not that different from a building in Shanghai where the same ceramic flooring is imported from Spain and the glass is made in Germany. World trade center is not an exception either where tailored glass was manufactured and imported in China. From aesthetic architecture point of view, this standardized modern architecture can complement the national urbanism or can contradict it. However, the mix has been always positively correlated even historically, the openness between different civilization have resulted into a beautiful mix of architecture. According to Kathryn Tanner, in her book ‘spirit in the cities: searching for soul in the urban landscape’, the vertical urban planning of buildings has put the city into a harder position “Hence, the new city has become a microcosm of global diversity and global economic disparity”(LaBat, Sean J. "Spirit in the Cities: Searching for Soul in the Urban Landscape." Anglican Theological Review 87.3 (2005): 522-3. ProQuest.

Web. 20 Apr. 2016). Here is another factor that makes cities similar in the essence that these global cities have only contributed in widening the gap between the social class within one city making challenges similar across the globe such as battle of minimum wage, the homeless social problem and the continuing inflation that cripples the unleveraged people in cosmopolitan cities.

In addition, cities start looking alike because of the nature of the overall factors that are built around it, plutocratic city- where the power of money has remade a city either physically, socially or politically has been the main driver. This huge concentration of capital with a big conjunction between interests around capital, financial services and real estate and other political sections have been put many cities on a competitive chart, where the former New York’s mayor Michael Blomberg argued that of every global billionaire moved to new York, it would be a “godsend”. However according to Atkinson in his article “who owns London Now; Power of raw Money”, History shows despite the interest in affordable housing of New York's new mayor, Bill de Blasio, his city has recently taken London's

Kabboudi 9 crown as destination of choice for billionaires.” (Atkinson, Rowland, Roger Burrows and Simon Parker. Who Owns London Now, and Why; the Power of Raw Money.) The movement of capital has been king in being the leader of what dictates how a new city should look like and how it should operate. Not only from aesthetic and governmental point of view but also the thrive of power and leadership has been the main factor in recopying cities across the globe. This makes the city stand out and be the ultimate resource of ideas and global connection. Money is power and this leaves its footprint in the capital market flow and indirect investment of financial institutes and wealthy people. However, the big question is how responsible investors are, Panama papers have shown how the big players will always find tools for money laundering or hiding from tax payment. This not has its impact on the national GDP but also affects the overall climate of business. I am not sure if business, trade or even simple business transactions are beneficial for all but cash is king and money is definitely power and authority.

On the other hand, some people argue that cities do not look alike and each have their own touch, cities like Dubai might seem modern but you can see the oriental touch even when you walk in the mall, all palm trees, the huge jewelry stores or the souks that are full of spices bring a lot of mystery and a recall for its neighboring countries whether it is India or Arabian peninsula. This can be true but it is not an efficient reason that cities are unique.

Even as a tourist, “These days wherever you go, particularly to big cities like New York or London, it's getting more and more difficult to find something that really represents that city.

I remember I once bought a T-shirt with the famous "I heart NY" logo on it in New York.

Later, I saw something similar in London and Dubai - all made in China… Hong Kong is losing its own flavor day by day; others quip that today's Hong Kong is "just another mainland city" like Shanghai or Beijing.” (George Chen, South China Morning Post:6.) Thus, the uniqueness expected to be seen in many major cities is fading. Santa Fe in Mexico City is not too different from La Défense in Paris which kills the individuality of the city and makes it a common place for work .

In fact urbanism has shaped cities in a predicted way rather than tailoring it to the needs and demands of its own grown population. A global city is measured not only based on

Kabboudi 10 the business activity or cultural experience provided but also innovation, information exchange and human capital. There is no city that has been on top of all these three elements.

New York is put on top of the global cities rank for 2015 and 2016 while it surpasses all other mega cities in terms of capital flow and the volume of business transaction. However, Hong Kong is the one that tops all cities when it comes to number of international schools available while London is still the top destination for people seeking a higher education. This brain drain is also helping the fact that more cities will look alike. With a shared knowledge, expats and international students will be more influenced by the trend occurring in that city and try to transfer those skills and establish projects when they decide to venture in a new country or even return to their home countries which adds to the fact that this is another pool of generating similar ideas and connections that can be transferred in the real estate sector whether in the technical or design skills. London has been also ranked first in the cultural experience and this might be the case thanks to geography which makes it a great hub between the U.S with 5hour flight duration, 3 hour to the closest part of Africa and about 4 hour to the closest side of Asia. This ease of connection is another indirect factor and a positive spillover that makes a city imitate the London model in the urban planning.

New York, Hong Kong and London have different type of markets and are following a different political system. However, these metropolis have different history and being immersed within a global village has been an issue that arises in the 20 th century. However, measuring the success of this integration cannot be measured whether certain cities have lost their identity or not such as Shanghai which is often described the most westernized city of China. From a financial point of view, it is quite easier to see how well a city can perform.

The pursuit between uniqueness and distinction as well as globalization has always result in homogenization of global cities which start looking alike from an architectural point of view as well as urban planning standpoint. Authenticity of cities cannot co-exist with such a great evolution with a high level of globalization. In addition, there is an overlay over history with incompatible materials that create an urban center that has a cultural atmosphere. If we dig deeper in history, similarities did co-exist, if you travel from Old Persia to India or Arabia to Andalusia there are a lot of common ground that made these old cities have a similar look but if you look further into small details, you’d find a touch of distinction in arches’ shapes,

Kabboudi 11 ceramics’ patterns and so on in each civilization despite the general similarity. Nowadays, rebuilding the centers of cities has produced a recognizable office zone with different cultural amenities for a “global eye” so CBD in China, Hong Kong and London are all looking the same. So basically the clustered areas such as airports, hotels and even condominium located in the city are all similar. This definitely recreate the local patterns and trends of the small shops. The grand bazar for instance in Istanbul is another similar to Colaba Causeway in Mumbai or Chor Bazar. This is another indication that cities are similar even though this takes part of the local pattern of both cities but maybe history repeats itself so due to historical ties, there is this organic development of similar spots across major cities.

Globalization have always created a challenge between local and international standard in the development process. So aside the city’s physical infrastructure and location, the main characteristics that drive any city is its people. Many forces affect the social enhancement of people living there. Even though many argue that governments try to implement the global sides of the equation and bring modernity, the force behind the rise and fall of cities and even civilizations remain the faith in its people. Demographic power is the major player and the biggest affected arena. Many challenges are facing many cultures as globalization tailor the way people live, work and urban planners in need of reacting to their citizens’ needs and preference under such dramatic changes. Technology and media are also implemented in every day products we consume not only in places we occupy or use. These two elements continue the biggest syndrome that put the people’s life into one package regardless of their cultural background. That is why, this increased urbanization has created thriving communities that are in need of sustainable cities that can be a good mechanism of what future may bring. In my opinion, people will have to adjust to the cubical forms they will be put in. This is not a matter of adaptation but an imminent change that will transform the whole lifestyle and will definitely surpass the basic element of real estate from physical elements and its attachment. This parameter will be like an injection that is supposed to cure the health of societies but can change it as well. To provide an example, if people work in Metropolitan cities such as New York or Hong Kong for long hours, the question is how likely people in more laid-back culture such as the Middle East who view working, living experience differently. A shift that ends by 3 PM in some parts of the world is incompatible

Kabboudi 12 to the standard of workaholic cities where shifts end by 7 PM or even by late hours of night or early hours in the morning. In the article Working Anything but 9 to 5 Jodi Kantor discusses what impact these long hours shift have on children’s psychologist bearing and the health of communities especially the lower income class that struggles to even find time for themselves, questioning even if they would have some time between the shifts to do some grocery or even the laundry. On a more dangerous side and since societies are made out of people, kids remain the biggest sacrifice to the enslaving shifts that put parents in uncontrollable condition of wither they have to meet the finances or take care of their kid. In the same article, one couple mentioned that they had to wake up their kid before 5 AM to take him to day care “the trip from home to day care to work took a mile-long walk, two trolleys, a bus ride and over three hours”.(Working Anything but 9 to 5."The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Aug. 2014). This for me raises a red flag over the benefit of globalization and standardization of not only work place but also the lifestyle we should follow. Sometimes, I wonder if life in developed countries is as healthy as in developing countries; by this, I am referring to the work-life balance, I remember walking with my friend in the streets of Paris even though it is not as crowded as Tokyo but he looked at me and told me how stupid life here is, everyone is rushing and running for what ? for work.

Work is for me not just a duty but something you live for, life is not meant to just follow what the society tells you but you need to be completely immersed into it. If that job does not provide you with a meaning of life, a feeling of your own existence then it is not worth it.

Besides, I do not think we are created to just live the basic life of going to school, having a decent job and a pay check then save for retirement, settle down and that is it. There is a more meaningful purpose than just pay the bills or make a living with being enslaved to a career. This is my philosophy, but people view life differently and the purpose behind it is a mystery that each religion or culture interprets it differently. As Rumi says; “I learned that every mortal will taste death. But only some will taste life” and the nature of human’s work activity is a new age of slavery in a different level, at least how I view it. Back to Real Estate and globalization, for this reason, I guess a customization and accommodation of the concept of cities need to be taken care of instead of building a standard model to mold cities. This remind me of Political systems around the world, while everybody cheers for democracy with all freedom that is entails within it from freedom of speech, to a guarantee and respect

Kabboudi 13 for its citizens and an equal treatment, there is a need to understand that model might not work for certain countries despite its all positive outcomes. The only reason is that each country went through different phases of development. Priorities and requirements of certain society is not the same. Countries are built on the strengths and contribution of its ruler first and then his empowerment to citizens; Empires did not develop just randomly by the community if not surrounded and composed by a more powerful asset that can give it an incentive to be more productive and caring. This social aspect has a huge impact on our daily life, graduates of 2015 in The U.S are the most indebted generation in history. According to government data analysis, “All together, total education debt–including federal and private education loans–will tally nearly $68 billion this year for graduates with a bachelor’s degree and their parents” ("Congratulations, Class of 2015. You’re the Most Indebted Ever (For Now)." WSJ). No wonder, why millennial struggle to even own a home, this disequilibrium not only affect the financial stability but also the social growth of an entire population.

This price paid is a tradeoff between what is good and bad for the social development and the outcome of it . There is no doubt that an educated population is more powerful than the opposite. if this is what a great city or regime has to offer. According to Global Cities index of 2015, innovation is going to be a major differentiator. Big cities will be driven by the environment they create within the core of the city beside the connectivity they provide to the rest of the world as well as the convenience. That is why cities in developed countries are outperforming, In fact cities are self-organizing into new power consortiums.

As a matter of fact, many argue that most future cities will benefit from each other’s’ interconnection in building sustainable cities that care about the people living demands and their problems. However, in my opinion, there would be not customized cities that care or tailor to its residents; This idea of creating green spaces or hubs that specialize in providing residents with high end and environmental-friendly products such as the new trend of economic city, cultural city or even a sport city complexes promote the same idea in different regions of the world with exactly the same vision of future. In fact, eco-cities concept started in the 70’s and it started as independent and local moves inside a few communities. This replication would be even more obvious in mega projects implanted all over the corners of the world. Smart cites and future cities are all based on this idea “Cities of the future must be

Kabboudi 14 sustainable, both environmentally and economically for occupants to enjoy a good quality of life. Many existing cites in developed countries are now making the transition to sustainability through government legislation and economic incentives. ” (Mezher, Toufic.

"Building Future Sustainable Cities: The Need for a New Mindset." Construction Innovation 11). This idea of developing an entire city within a city is another proof that cities across the globe won’t be any different. As an example we can cite, Masdar City located in Abu Dhabi which is estimated to be the benchmark for the development of the region “Masdar City will be a test bed for new approaches to the planning, design, engineering, construction, and operational challenges involved in creating environmentally sustainable cities, Masdar City itself will be helping test and solve these problems, thereby making it easier and cheaper to develop sustainable Cities of the Future.” (Mezher, Toufic. "Building Future Sustainable Cities: The Need for a New Mindset."Construction Innovation 11).

Masdar city is not any different from Shanghai’s ambitious plans or Los Angeles’ plans for integrating the green components in urban planning. With more globalized aspect as noted before, challenges become more common. Future cities will be the place for economic dynamism. Many experts predict that this battle between cities that are in a constant race to provide a better service will continue but some cities will fail while others will win and this will be mainly be determined by the initiative a government takes “It will be critical to achieving the post-2015 development agenda and the sustainable development goals – whether we will be able to usher in a new era of cities and a new track of sustainable urbanization.” ("Cities for a Sustainable Future | UN DESA | United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs." UN News Center.) That is why an integrated approach for delivering a better city will be the big rivalry between major urban spaces but this utopian dream is quite a replication and contradicts to real estate fundamental that says, projects are not a duplicate, because this whole concept is proven wrong.

In my opinion, to solve the mystery behind the standardization of cities and how they start looking alike on different levels, we need to solve the puzzle of the social change.

Societies have been developing throughout ages and between the rise and fall of civilization, the key is a battle against power, ego and knowledge. Knowledge is power in today’s world.

Cities start looking alike not because of the lack of productivity or lack of talent neither

Kabboudi 15 creativity but for a mind to create and innovate, the soul needs to bed fed properly. By this, I shed lights on the previous point that a good equilibrium and peace of mind and rest of body is needed rather than the robotism of human being. Certain tasks need to be accomplished by everyone but a person can’t be creative neither productive if he’s limited and tied to a routine that put his brain and freedom into one box. For a person to develop and produce a new idea, his mind needs to be free, inspired from the surrenders and this is not possible if one is living in a place . Also, a common sense of what is currently trendy is quite dangerous as this brings back a figure to emplace in a country that might not be ready or even able to accommodate that change.

To conclude, cities have been always competing against each other’s and this race is even more intense as globalization is opening new horizon for emerging cities to catch up while others are more inclined into technology and innovation which is estimated to be the biggest differentiator between global cities. Global cities are alike ranging from its means of transportation; a wave in connecting railroads and bigger airports to the glass towers and open public green space besides the reliance on global expertise in engineering, designing and constructing the cities. It started with impression and a desire to copy a model that was one day popular. Cities are indeed look like a similar package especially those who are going through the same economic boom at the same time frame. Commercial arenas as well as leisure spaces such as marinas and retail malls are quite similar everywhere you go in these global markets. It is a competition for branding, positioning and can be an ego when building trophy assets such as building the tallest skyscraper or managing the biggest mall. All these factors make cities or at least portion of them identical especially when they are closer geographically. As more and more connected the world is, the flow of ideas become identical.

Even from architectural point of view, an adaptation of new modern style is somehow acquired by the big cities that can leverage their brand towards a more modern and recognizable place to live, work and live. While cities start looking alike, the question remains that many debates that cities still hold their inner special and unique features. In my opinion, this is not a valid point, as unique as a city can be, globalization makes it irrelevant with westernization and modernization of its own people. The future of cities will be sustainability but this only adds to the argument that cities will look even more like twin

Kabboudi 16 cities across the globe with using similar engineering methods, construction materials and even design. In brief, cities are like twins, globalization have its deep effects on the urbanism planning of cities and this will bring cities even closer and make them more identical so replication is indeed possible no matter how many argue that real estate is unique because it is not anymore. The biggest issue remains on how boring the world would be as the assimilation and the packaging of cities and cultures would be more intense in the future and how vertical cities will grow or would we turn to ground cities and even spatial cities?

Kabboudi 17 Works Cited "Asia's World City Still has a Few Unique Gifts, if You Look Hard with the Advent of Globalization, Truly Unique Hong Kong Souvenirs are a Rarity these Days, but there are Still a Few Left if You Know Where to Look." South China Morning Post: 6. Dec 24 2012.

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