GLOBALIZATION

Globalization

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Discussion5

Cultural globalization and homogeneity of cities5

Economic globalization and homogeneity within cities9

Conclusion10

Abstract

The cultural and economic globalization has played an integral part in generating a process of homogenization within cities/societies. The use of technology and fast communication has resulted in increased interconnectivity around the world. Hence, the globalization has eliminated the territorial borders and created uniformity among cities/countries.

Globalization

Introduction

The term, globalization has many meanings. According to one definition, it is a process of complex interrelations between, cultures, individuals, societies and institutions throughout the world. It is also explained by the increased mobility of goods, services, labour, technology, and capital. Globalization is never static, it has increased with the advent of new technologies (like biotechnologies, digitalization etc.) and human innovations. These activities show how the economic globalization integrates and shapes the economies, cities and societies across the world (http://world-geography.org). Therefore, the process of globalization has been integrating the geography of the global economy.

Globalization is a process in which the geographic distances are relatively reduced in the long-distance economics, and political and socio-cultural relationships. Worldwide networks of cooperation can be created with globalization. The ever changing nature of the process of globalization is related with material results in spatial units like regions, nation-states and localities and specific practices of societal partners. On the contrary, many specialists believe that globalization is related with the decreasing influence of space in relationships between cities (http://world-geography.org).

The dynamics and forces of local-global power have created and continue to shape the lives of people around the globe. The economic and cultural globalization organizes and generates homogenization within cities. The material things and non-material things (Ogburn, et. Al., 1964) of a particular city/society are two important things to analyse the impact of globalization is in the context of creating homogeneity within different societies. Material culture is the physical or technological aspects of our daily lives, including food item, television, internet, car, dress, and raw material. Non-material culture refers to customs, traditions, languages, values, philosophies, ideologies, beliefs, and governments, which guide to accept or reject the material, cultural elements. Every culture grows by adapting and re-configuring the qualities of other cultures improves and enhances their own culture (http://lass.calumet.purdue.edu).

Discussion

According to Held et al, (2000), the idea of globalization applies an expansion or extensity of political, economic and social activities across borders in a matter that decisions, activities and events in one part of the world can have importance for people in other places of the world. This was stretched to contain the activities that show amplification of inter-connection, which results in accelerating the inter-connections between participating geographic regions in ways that the effect of distant activities is intensified to the extent that they have huge global consequences (Held et al., 2000). The impact of globalization is measured by the tendency of global flows i.e. goods, money, and power.

Cultural globalization and homogeneity of cities

The goal of globalization is to create cultural uniformity or homogeneity within regions around the globe and eliminate ...