Countless cities today aspire to be globalised hub of the world’s economy. Being a “global city” is a common reference point for city leaders around the globe and a continuous source of academic inquiry as much as dispute. One text, which turns 30 this year, has done much to advance popularity of this phrase.

Since its 1991 publication, Saskia Sassen’s The Global City has become a reference point for more than a few generations of scholars. Hotly debated within urban studies and widely referenced across academia, its outlook on the globalisation of cities has left a mark on the way many scholars and practitioners think of urban development.

Join us for a roundtable panel to celebrate, discuss and look ahead from the thirtieth anniversary of the publication of The Global City, with a star panel of urbanists in conversation with its author.

Panellists include: Saskia Sassen, Susan Fainstein, Richard Sennett, Ben Derudder, Margarita Rodriguez, Xuefei Ren and Roger Keil. 

The event is hosted by the Melbourne Centre for Cities at the University of Melbourne in collaboration with UCL’s Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP).

Please note international times for this event:

3 February 2022, 8pm GMT/London, 3pm EST/New York

4 February 2022, 7am AEDT/Melbourne