Collapsing the Global and the Local through Interscalar Strategies: a Glurbanization Perspective

Abstract

This article examines glurbanization, a model stating that urban transformation through interscalar strategies can increase the ability and status of global city-regions to develop global competitive advantages. Interscalar strategies refer to the use of scaling processes through strategic cross-border restructuration and multiple localities. Localities are groups or communities such as neighborhoods, municipalities, suburbs, regions, and urban zones. Interscaling implies a network or relationship between each of these localities, each being at a different scale. Glurbanization, then, collapses the global and the local. It does not follow a hierarchical design whereby the nation-state controls how things work; rather, globalization now happens from both ‘below’ and ‘above’.