Global and Regional Cities

For 2010, Competitive Alternatives expands its coverage of large international business centers, adding a number of major global cities to the study for the first time. These new cities include Berlin, Los Angeles, Lyon, Miami, Milan, Osaka, Rome, and Tokyo. In addition, for the first time ever, Competitive Alternatives 2010 includes all of the 20 largest US metropolitan areas. To complement this expansion of major global cities, Competitive Alternatives 2010 also enhances its comparisons of regional cities.

Site searches often differ in the range of geographic locations under active consideration. Whether the search is global or regional, there is often a trade-off between larger and smaller cities.

Larger cities tend to provide larger labor pools, better access to customers and suppliers, and better support infrastructure, while smaller cities tend to offer lower labor and facility costs.

Within the 10 countries studied, Competitive Alternatives examines 41 large cities, each with estimated metro-area populations of 2 million or more. Results for these cities are detailed in the following table.

While large cities may be of greater interest for some global investment projects, smaller regional cities can offer a more attractive investment location for other investment projects.

Competitive Alternatives examines more than 100 cities, and regional comparisons can be made among cities within each country. When comparing results for larger and smaller cities, cost differences vary greatly. In the compact market of the Netherlands, for example, there is little in the way of cost differences between cities. However, in the United Kingdom, business costs in Manchester are seven percentage points lower than London, as seen in the following table.

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