Shifting Corporate Geographies in Global Cities of the South: Mexico City DIE ERDE Journal of the and Johannesburg As Case Studies Geographical Society of Berlin

Vol. 144, No. 1 · Research article

Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City DIE ERDE Journal of the and Johannesburg as case studies Geographical Society of Berlin

Christof Parnreiter 1, Christoph Haferburg2, Jürgen Oßenbrügge1

1 Institut für Geographie der Universität Hamburg, Bundesstr. 55, 20146 Hamburg, [email protected], [email protected]; 2 Institut für Geographie der Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Kochstr. 4/4, 91054 Erlangen, Germany, [email protected]

Manuscript submitted: 13 June 2011 / Accepted for publication: 10 May 2012 / Published online: 2 September 2013

Abstract Global city research links the expansion of advanced producer services in major cities to the internationalisation of real estate markets as well as to the spread of (mainly) high-rise office complexes. This research, however, has based its findings mainly on cases of the Global North. This paper examines, based on Grant and Nijman’s (2002) suggestion that the “internal spatial organisation of gateway cities in the less-developed world” reflects “the city’s role in the global political economy”, which patterns occur in two metropoles of the Global South. In addition to this, the analysis focuses especially on the driving forces behind the changes in corporate geographies. The analysis is placed in Mexico City and Johannesburg and based on real estate market data (offices) as well as background documents on urban development. The outcome shows that in these cities, local transformation processes of the real estate market and office space location are indeed considerably shaped by global market dynamics. However, the findings also indicate that there is no clear scale dependence of the territorial form. In order to comprehensively understand the changes in the corporate geographies therefore, it is necessary to direct more attention to local and national dynamics. The restructuring of the built environment in both cities can only be grasped fully by considering the particular role of local and national governments. This additional entry point to an understanding of shifting corporate geographies helps to put recent dynamics of global capitalism and politics of urban neoliberalism in perspective.

Zusammenfassung Die Global-City-Forschung verweist auf Beziehungen zwischen Standorten produzentenbezogener Dienstleistungen, der Internationalisierung der Büroimmobilienmärkte sowie der Expansion entsprechender Bürobauten. Empirisch basiert dieses Konzept jedoch vorwiegend auf Fallstudien im Globalen Norden. Daher untersucht dieser Beitrag, aus- gehend von Grant und Nijmans (2002) These, dass bestimmte Städte des Globalen Südens („Gateway Cities“) gleich- zwei dortigen Metropolen abzeichnen. Darüber hinaus versucht die Untersuchung, zwischen verschiedenen Ursachen derermaßen zu verzeichnenden von weltweiten Veränderungen Wirtschaftsverflechtungen dieser „Corporate überprägt Geography“ werden, zu welche differenzieren. Formen derDie StadtentwicklungAnalyse von Mexico sich City in und Johannesburg basiert auf Statistiken über die Büroimmobilienmärkte und auf stadtpolitischen und -planerischen Dokumenten. Im Ergebnis zeigt sich, dass sowohl Veränderungen der jeweiligen Immobilienteilmärkte als auch Büro- diese Dependenz in Bezug auf die gebaute Umwelt vielfach gebrochen wird. Um die (manifesten) baulichen Restruktu- rierungenstandorte starkumfassend von Dynamiken zu verstehen des erscheint Weltmarkts es notwendig,abhängen. Aller insbesonderedings finden die sich Rolle auch lokaler zahlreiche und nationaler Hinweise Regierungen darauf, dass bzw. Steuerungsinstrumente stärker zu berücksichtigen. Erst dieser erweiterte Zugang zu den „Corporate Geographies“ macht das Zusammenspiel von globalem Kapitalismus und neoliberaler Stadtentwicklung nachvollziehbar.

Keywords

Corporate geography, office location, capital city, Mexico City, Johannesburg Parnreiter, Christof, Christoph Haferburg and Jürgen Oßenbrügge 2013: Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies. – DIE ERDE 144 (1): 1-16

DOI: 10.12854/erde-144-1

DIE ERDE · Vol. 144 · 1/2013 1 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies

1. Introduction ing that in each stage considered (colonial economy, post-colonial command economy during the nation- Large-scale changes in the physical environment of alist period of India, post-command economy since cities are frequently pointed out as important and the early 1990s) a distinct spatial structure was pro- highly visible imprints of globalisation on urban de- duced. Similarly, Grant and Nijman (2002) contend that velopment. While some studies have focused on the the “internal spatial organisation of gateway cities spread of malls and gated communities into cities all over the world (see, for example, Tomlinson and Larsen the city’s role in the global political economy” (Grant 2003; Glasze et al. 2006; Hahn 2008), global city re- andin the Nijman less-developed 2002: 323). world The authorsis in part provide a reflection convinc of- searchers have emphasised the relationship between ing evidence for the proposition of a corresponding the expansion of advanced producer services into a periodisation and regionalisation of corporate pres- key economic activity of major cities, the internation- ence in Accra and in Mumbai. Through a detailed his- alisation of real estate markets in these cities, and torical analysis of locational patterns of international major changes in the built environment induced by and domestic companies in the two cities, Grant and Nijman detect changes in the corporate geography for example, Fainstein 2001, 2008; Sassen 2001). Sys- over time. In particular, they identify concrete areas tematicthe spread analysis of (mainly) of the high-rise relationship office betweencomplexes global (see, within Accra and Mumbai from where today’s exter- city formation and the transformation of urban land- nal relations of the two cities and countries are organ- scapes has, however, barely moved beyond the ‘The ised, and where they are therefore spatially material- Big Three’: New York, London and Tokyo. Although ised in physical infrastructure. The authors conclude, there is a growing number of studies on spatial trans- therefore, that the globalisation of the Indian and the formations in cities in South and Southeast Asia (Haila Ghanese economy leaves clear imprints on the urban 2000; Olds 2002; Yusuf and Wu 2002; Han 2005; Ren landscape. The countries’ current connectivity to the 2008), allusions to global city research in this litera- delin- ture are by and large limited to the absorption of a eated foreign corporate presence” (Grant and Nijman 2002:global 323;economy emphasis is, thus, added) “reflected in the in two a spatially cities. Part of American and African cities. While changing patterns this physical transformation is the result of a de- and ofspecific segregation terminology. and their The same(possible) holds relationship true for Latin to reregulation of urban planning which is made more processes of globalisation have been subject to analy- - sis (Bond 2000; Ciccolella and Mignaqui 2002; Hafer- eign investors’ needs (Parnreiter 2011). burg and Oßenbrügge 2003; Harrison 2003; Parnreiter flexible and site-specific in order to accommodate for 2003; Crankshaw and Parnell 2004; de Mattos et al. - 2004; Beavon 2005), little research has been devoted sation and regionalisation of corporate presence in to systematically linking changes in the urban fabric majorIn order cities to in thicken poorer evidence countries, of we the will specific provide periodi more and the production of new urban spaces to the chang- - ing ways in which major cities in poorer countries are inserted into the global economy. ofqualified labour substantiation(e.g. from import for thesubstitution notion that to theglobalisa chang- tion)ing insertion has an impactof a specific on the city city’s into internal the global spatial division or- There are, nevertheless, notable exceptions to this ganisation. Taking Mexico City and Johannesburg as shortcoming. Arguments advanced in the late 1970s case studies, we will give a detailed account of the and early 1980s by world system analysts suggested changes in the corporate geographies in these cities that the analysis of processes of dependent urbanisa- since the mid-1990s. tion should start by examining the ways in which spe- The rationale behind the selection of Mexico City and with broader dynamics of the world economy (for an Johannesburg is that we place our analysis explicitly overviewcific spatial of patternsthis literature in ‘third see worldSmith cities’ articulate in the context of the above-mentioned debate on the studies undertaken at that time did not provide suf- relationship between global city formation and the 2000). However,- transformation of the physical environment of cities. Against this background, we are particularly interest- intoficient the empirical world economy. evidence More to trace recently, the spatialChakraworty struc ed in the articulation of this relationship in non-core (2000)ture of specificexplicitly cities linked to theirspatial particular transformation incorporation in Cal- global cities. Mexico City and Johannesburg represent cutta to different periods in the city’s history, suggest- valid cases, because both cities have developed since

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the 1990s into major gateway cities for the globali- In addition to providing more substantial evidence, sation of economic activities in ‘their’ countries. For the second objective of this article is to advance a that reason they are categorised by the ‘Globalization more nuanced analysis of the driving forces behind and World Cities Research Network’ (GaWC), which the observable changes in corporate geographies. regularly assesses the shape of and changes in the Grant and Nijman (2002) underscore above all the im- world city network, as alpha world cities – “very important role of external linkages and market forces portant world cities that link major economic regions (that is, of private sector companies) in this reshaping - of the urban fabric. Although the authors refer to lo- tion is based on GaWC’s measures of how deep a city cal processes, they do not explicitly address the ques- isand embedded states into into the the world world economy”. city network. This classificaThis network connectivity is derived from the size of a city’s could have on the making and remaking of urban eco- nomiction of geographies. what specific In a bearing similar thesevein, their local allusion processes to globalised producer service sector: The more offices in implementing ‘global’ liberalisation policies. Thus, thisof global city to producer other world service cities. firms Mexico a city City’s has, global and net the- thenational ways governments in which ‘the is national’ confined andto governments’ ‘the local’ might role workbigger connectivity theses offices amounts are, the to more0.55, whichlinkages means connect that also impact on the formation of corporate geographies this city is connected to other world cities about half in the global era remains an under-explored issue. In as strongly as London or New York are. As 24th best order to overcome this limitation, we emphasise the connected city, Mexico City’s position in the world role played by national and local governments in de- city network is comparable to the of São Paulo, Zürich or Amsterdam. Johannesburg’s network connectiv- where new corporate geographies are being produced. ity amounts to 0.43, which compares to Washington, termining the specific ways and locations in which and Melbourne or Barcelona (Taylor 2011; for case studies The rest of the article is organised as follows. In the on Johannesburg and Mexico City see Haferburg and next section we will provide detailed information Oßenbrügge 2009, Parnreiter 2010 respectively). City and Johannesburg. Drawing on written informa- Our concern with global city formation and its (pos- on the development of the office markets in Mexico- sible) effects on corporate geographies accounts for ment quantitative variation since the 1990s, putting our focus on the 1990s and 2000s which cover the particulartion supplied emphasis by global on realthe estategeographical firms, weshifts docu of transition of inward-oriented development strate- - gies pursued in both countries during the second tion, in the following section we outline the chang- half of the 20th century to a pronounced globalisa- ingthe corporate supply of geographies office space. in Basedthe two on cities this by descrip relat- tion course. A further rationale for the choice of a relatively ‘short-durée’ time frame is that our argument with data on locational patterns of major companies is supported not only by an analysis of locational pat- ining Mexico the information and South on Africa. the geography In Section of 4office we analyse supply terns of major companies; rather, departing from the - assumption that global city formation, the interna- - tionalisation of real estate markets and the (partial) dogenousthe findings, factors paying that particular cause the attention described to thechanges com restructuring of urban spaces are intertwined pro- plex – and place-specific – mix of exogenous and en- cesses (Sassen 2001), we set out to explore the mate- sults of the study are summarised and an agenda for rial essence of the restructuring of corporate geog- possiblein corporate ways geographies. for further deepeningIn the final the section research the reon raphies, namely the rapid building of one high-rise the relationship between global city formation and Sassen 2001). In order changing urban geographies is proposed. to identify the changes in corporate geographies, weoffice particularly complex after focus another on the shifting( geographies of 2. The production of new corporate geographies: because it is the “city builders” (Fainstein 2001) who the development of office markets in Mexico City representoffice markets the conceptual in Mexico linkCity betweenand in Johannesburg, globalisation and Johannesburg processes and spatial transformation in cities. This analysis is limited to the last 15 years or so, because Since 1994, when NAFTA was enacted, which institu- tionalised Mexico’s globalisation course, the corpo- market is a relatively recent phenomenon. - in both cities the development of a first-class office DIE ERDE · Vol. 144 · 1/2013 rate geography of Mexico City has undergone signifi3 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies cant changes. Between 1997 and 2007, the year before leasing activities picked up in 2011, nearly doubling 2, cent or less in the first quarter of 2012. Both sales and athe 65 global per cent financial increase crisis compared broke out,to the total 1997 inventory stock1. Thereof office are space many grew indications by 2.2 thatmillion this toincrease 5.6 million has been m Finally,with regard construction to the leased activities office re-accelerated, space (2009-2011) to add demand-driven: the number of real estate market aand further more 1.5than million tripling m regarding2 to the total the inventory,sold office space.which transactions has been rising, annually leased or sold by the end of 2011 amounted to 7.1 million m2.

In addition to the strong expansion in supply, the in- office space grew by 50 per cent between 1995/97 and ventory changed in three noteworthy ways. Firstly, was2005/7, twice and as the high availability as demand of and office the space vacancy declined rate there is a marked tendency towards an upgrading of amountedsharply. While to 23 in 1998,per cent, supply by for2007 ‘Class the A’ vacancy office space rate had fallen to a historical low of 5 per cent. The crisis the supply. Since the late 1990s, about four-fifths of long-term consequences. Shrinking demand made classesthe construction increased activity their share contributed in the total to the inventory first-class to theof 2008/9 vacancy hit rate the double,city’s office to 12 market, per cent though in 2011. without Most office market. As a consequence, the A and the A+ analysis of transactions also shows a sharp increase vacancy rate has declined again, amounting to 10 per inabout the 60 importance per cent of ofall theoffice highest space inmarket Mexico segment. City. An real estate firms agree, however, that since then the

Fig. 1 Office space in Mexico City’s real estate submarkets, total floor space in 2001 and 2007

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Palmas with 25 and Santa Fe with 22 per cent). By 2007, 2007 as in 1997, making up 45 per cent of all traded the share of the traditional CBD had fallen to a quarter spaceTransactions (2006). of With A+ office the crisis, space thewere dominance twice as high of the in prime segment of the market became even more sali- as the cent)of the (seeClass Fig. A+ 1office). In Santa space, Fe, while more Santa than Fe 70 has per emerged cent of dominant area of prime office space (31 per space,ent: In whilethe second the A Classtrimester added of a 2011, further the 14 A+ per segment cent. A the share is considerably lower in the Centro-Reforma second,accounted though for 61 less per pronounced, cent of the sold trend or isleased the polari office- corridorall office (27space per belongs cent) and to thein Polanco Class A+ (17 segment, per cent). while Re-

like CBRE or JLL do not distinguish anymore between thesation expense of the ofoffice Class market. A, whose The share reported decreased increase from in garding the post-crisis development, real estate firms 38.5the highest-level to 29.0 per centfirst-class (2000-2008), office space while was Class mainly B and at the current dominance of Santa Fe, Lomas Palmas and C, amounting to 26 and 13 per cent in 2007, lost less BosquesA+ and A de spaces. las Lomas Available is challenged data suggest, by a trend however, towards that participation in the market share. a ‘re-appropriation’ of the traditional CBD by the prime sector of the market. JLL reports, for example, that of the 830,000 m2 - considerably in the last years. The areas that during der construction in spring 2012, some 22 per cent are theThirdly, import-substituting the geography era of officeconstituted space the has CBD changed com- allotted to Paseo of de A andla Reforma A+ office and space, another which 26 are to unthe 2: Centro Polanco area. Santa Fe and Lomas, on the other hand, account for only 11 and 9 per cent, respectively. Even extensionprised three to ofthe today’s west, Paseonine office de la submarkets Reforma; the Polan- more visible is the trend towards inner-city locations coHistórico area north (historical of Chapultepec; centre) and Insurgentesits long-established Sur and its neighbouring districts to the south of the historical started) projects: 60 per cent of the projected 548,000 centre. In 2001, this traditional CBD comprised 57 per mfor2 prime office space as regards planned (but not yet de la Reforma, while no planned projects are reported important single market (24 per cent of the inven- from will Santa be foundFe and in Lomas. new office buildings along Paseo tory),cent of followed all office by space, Insurgentes with Polanco (19 per being cent) the and most the per cent). In 2007, the pre-crisis year, the new busi- million to 7.5 million m² between 1993, the last year nesscorridor areas Centro in the Histórico west and – southPaseo ofde the la Reformacity already (14 ofIn formalJohannesburg, apartheid, total and stock 2005, of officea rise whichspace grew represents by 2.9 an increase of 159 per cent. During this period, the an- Although Polanco’s share decreased to 19 per cent, it nual growth rate of 12 per cent in the total inventory of remainedcomprised the slightly most importantmore than singlehalf of market, all office followed space. by Insurgentes (17 per cent) and Santa Fe in the west in Pretoria, and four times higher than in Cape Town (16 per cent) (see Fig. 1). It is striking that since then (officeRode space2005). was In nearly Johannesburg, twice as high vacancy as in Durbanrates have and the traditional CBD has recovered, with a notable in- only been low in the high-end segment of the market crease of the inventory along Insurgentes (22 per cent (Rode 2005, JLL 2011: 4). The Grade A segment, how- boom along Paseo de la Reforma (e.g. Torre BBVA Ban- (SACPN 2012). As in Mexico City, there was a clear im- comer,of all office Torre space Reforma, in 2011) Torre and aNew massive York constructionLife). These pactever, ofaccounts the crisis for in 52 all percent Johannesburg of the total submarkets office stock (as changes substantially increase the share of the Cen- well as in other South African cities): In Sandton, rep- resenting the biggest of the decentralised nodes, the currently 11 per cent. On the other hand, the massive vacancy rate had dropped from 15 per cent (2003) to expansiontro Histórico in Santa– Paseo Fe dehas la come Reforma to an submarket end – the sharefrom an amazing 3 per cent (2007), but it escalated again of this submarket fell slightly to 15 per cent. to 9 per cent (2010) due to the global market turmoil. - Changes in the corporate geography become even more cies had decreased from around 20 per cent (2003) toJohannesburg’s below 10 per CBD cent was (2008), hit even only harder: to jump Here back vacan to 17 growing segment of the market. As early as in 2001, the per cent in 2011 (Lottering and Meijers 2012, JLL 2011: visible if the focus is on prime office space, the fastest- 4). Recently though, vacancy rates in Johannesburg’s - prime submarkets are decreasing again (JLL 2012), ketstraditional accounted CBD forheld nearly only a half minor of fractionthe inventory of Class (Lomas A+ of and compared to other South African cities, the above fice space (37 per cent), while two of the newer submar DIE ERDE · Vol. 144 · 1/2013 5 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies

Fig. 2 Dynamics of office space development in Johannesburg’s key sub-markets, 1993 and 2005

average growth of the inventory in Johannesburg in- into Johannesburg’s enlarged municipal boundaries in 2000, has an inventory of about 1.4 million m² today, this city, which operates as the main gateway through although it has experienced continuous growth in the whichdicates the a concentration re-insertion of of South demand Africa for officeinto the space world in past years (cf. Lottering and Meijers economy is managed (cf. SAPN 2012). adding smaller neighbouring locations for ‘high-end’ demand, like Rivonia (290,000m²) 2012).and Woodmead However, (350,000m²), the new Sandton-centred CBD accounts space was accompanied by a geographical change of supply.As in the Figure case 2 of shows Mexico the City, corporate the increase geographies in office in Johannesburg and has, for a few years – in sum – been 1993 and 2005, indicating a marked northward shift. biggerfor more than than the a traditional quarter of CBD. all office Further space important in Metro- of- In contrast to Mexico City, where the ‘heart’ of the new CBD, Santa Fe, was built in a previously ‘empty’ area m²), strategically located between the traditional CBD - fice locations of Johannesburg are Rosebank (300,000 hannesburg followed the pattern of residential subur- built rail link to Pretoria and the airport, respectively, banisation(see below), as the well production as the construction of new office of new spaces shopping in Jo asand well Sandton as the andnorth-western hugely benefiting corridor from with the Randburg newly- malls which set in during the late 1970s and 1980s. As CBD (435,000 m²), Bryanston (595,000 m²) and Four- a result, the traditional CBD located in central Johan- ways (155,000 m²) (Lottering and Meijers 2012). Re- nesburg and including Braamfontain, Parktown and cently, Cresta, which lies south of Randburg, is expe- riencing substantial growth, from a low base though space in 2005 and the share has further decreased sinceMillpark then. accounted Nevertheless, for only with 26 more per centthan of1.7 all million office m² (2005), central Johannesburg is still the biggest Between(with a current the old office municipalities stock of 170,000 of Johannesburg m²). and submarket in the metropolitan area. North of the Pretoria, Midrand has been developed as an edge traditional CBD, Sandton has emerged as the second biggest submarket. Sandton, which was incorporated 2008 (JLL 2008: 4), compared to 354,845 m² in 2002 city with a total of 481,818 m² of office space in 6 DIE ERDE · Vol. 144 · 1/2013 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies

(Rode 2002 after Beavon 2005). With this growth - rate of more than 6 per cent p.a., Midrand has be- gentes (13 per cent each). The rest of the 255 Top 500 companiesHistórico – werePaseo fairly de la evenlyReforma spread and by over Avenida the city. Insur The the traditional CBD, Sandton and the north-western industrial districts of Azcapotzalco, Iztacalco, Izta- cluster)come the in fourth the Johannesburg biggest cluster Metro of office3. The space attraction (after palapa, Naucalpan and Tlalnepantla in the northern of Midrand is seen in the establishment of the seats and eastern part of the city together housed nearly a of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), quarter of all headquarters, while 19 per cent of the the African Union’s Pan-African Parliament and the headquarters were located in districts mainly west- Gallagher Estate, with 28,000 m² of gross indoor ex- wards of the historical centre which were expected hibition space comprising one of South Africa’s larg- to become a new Central Business District in the late - 1990s (e.g. Lomas Palmas, Bosque de Lomas, Santa Fe). ofest being convention located centres equally – closeand as to theJohannesburg old name Half and By 2010 the picture had changed considerably. 322 Tshwaneway House (Pretoria), indicates, a therefactor is which the additional is boosted benefit by the of the Top 500 companies were headquartered in Gautrain (cf. below). The latest development between Midrand and Sandton is Waterfall City, a mix of up- cent since the enactment of NAFTA. In sum, the Mex- market residential units (i.e. 20,000 apartments and icoMexico City Cityheadquartered (Expansión companies 2011) – an accountincrease for of 7326 per a retirement village), shopping malls (150,000 m²) This increase has had an important impact on the ur- development in South Africa’s history” (2,200 ha of bancent geography, of the sales though of the the 500 traditional biggest firms CBD incontinued Mexico. surfaceand office area) parks, by the lauded Midrand as theReporter. “biggest property per cent of the Top 500 companies headquartered in to be an attractive zone for Mexico’s biggest firms. 42 3. Analysis I: The geography of foreign corporate same share as in 1993. Within the traditional CBD, In- presence in Mexico City and Johannesburg surgentesMexico City has have most their headquarters main offices (18 there per whichcent), whileis the

So far we have shown that in both Mexico City and Jo- and Polanco have 12 per cent each. Polanco, however, - the corridor Centro Histórico – Paseo de la Reforma tially in the last years. Increases in the inventory are, of the Big 500 being controlled from companies lo- inhannesburg particular, the to besupply observed of offices in the has high-end grown substansegment houses the larger firms, with 15 per cent of the sales- of the market. A second notable feature is that there tered in Polanco: the telecommunication company is a pronounced geographical shift in the supply of of- cated there. Two of the Top 10 firms are headquar General Motors (7). The Insurgentes area and the CBD was developed in the last years, which raises the Centro-ReformaAmérica Móvil (second corridor biggest have each firm one in Mexico)two Top and 10 fices. In Mexico City as well as in Johannesburg a new headquarter: Grupo Financiero BBVA-Bancomer in Grant and Nijman (2002), namely that foreign compa- question as to whether we can confirm the findings of (4) in the latter. Companies in the Insurgentes area accountthe former for (9)8.2 perand centComisión of the Federalturnover de of Electricidad the Big 500, corporatenies have specificpresence locational in Mexico patterns City and that Johannesburg? differ from while the Centro-Reforma corridor has 6.6 per cent. And,national in firms.particular, Is there are a specificthere spatially geography delimitable to foreign In sum, the old CBD accounts for nearly 30 per cent of ‘global city zones’ in Mexico City and in Johannesburg? the sales of Mexico’s biggest companies.

In the case of Mexico City, we contend that the massive Despite this lasting importance of the traditional - CBD, changes in the corporate geography have oc- balisation of some Mexican companies and the enor- curred. The industrial districts in the northern and mousinflux growthof foreign of firmsthe advanced since the producermid- 1990s, sector the glohas eastern part of the city have lost many of their main spurred and offices, housing about 10 per cent of the headquar- In 1993, 255 of the Top 500 companies in Mexico were ters in 2010. Secondly, the areas composing a new changed demand for prime office space.4. 42 CBD in the west and the south of the city increased traditionalheadquartered CBD. in Polanco Mexico was City the (Expansión most important 1993) sub- marketper cent (16 of theseper cent), firms followed had their by headquartersthe corridor Centro in the Bigtheir 500’s share sales, of the major new offices CBD still in Mexicolies behind City (25.8 from per 19 to 47 per cent. However, regarding the share in the DIE ERDE · Vol. 144 · 1/2013 7 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies

cent). The main sub-centres are Santa Fe (12.7 per already played an important role during import- Lomas Palmas (14.6/7.1) west of the traditional CBD. substitutingferentiation betweenindustrialisation old and new (like CBD; the firms former that Bothcent ofSanta the officesFe (Ford and [number 10.1 per 10]) cent and of Lomasthe sales) Palmas and or still state-owned companies, e.g. Teléfonos de (Wal-Mart, which has relocated from the Northern - district Azcapotzalco recently, in Lomas Palmas) cidad, or global corporations operating in Mexico for house one Top 10 corporation. México, América Móvil; Comisión Federal de Electri- cial institutions that emerged from the acquisition ofa long Mexican time, banks, e.g. General e.g. Grupo Motors Financiero or Nestlé, BBVA-Ban or finan- centres is backed by an in-depth analysis in which comer) tend to be headquartered in the traditional The finding that Mexico City now has two business CBD. The new CBD, however, houses both compa- by ownership and by economic sectors. Regarding nies which have been in operation for a long time sales,we classified the traditional companies CBD by accounts size (measured for 30 inper sales), cent in Mexico, but have recently changed the locations of the sales of the Big 500 companies, while the new of their headquarters (e.g. Ford, General Electric or CBD makes up 26 per cent (2010) (see Fig. 3)5. There - is a clear time dimension to the geographical dif- selves in Mexico since NAFTA’s coming into effect, Wal-Mart), and firms which have installed them

Fig. 3 Location of Mexico’s biggest companies (sales): all, foreign-owned, producer service firms, 2007

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Fig. 4 Postapartheid urban development: Johannesburg’s corporate geography

mas Palmas. Polanco, on the other hand, is also home and other producer services from the FIRE sector. to national companies which comprise two thirds of e.g. ING bank and many other providers of financial this submarket’s share in the sales of the Big 500. With It is precisely the focus on foreign companies and on 15 per cent of the sales of the nationally owned Big 500 - - creased their weight in the urban economy since 1993 - (producerParnreiter service 2010), that firms, allows which us to have corroborate significantly the no in- seofirms, de Polancola Reforma is the corridor clear centre (9 per ofcent) the andMexican the Insur busi- tion that global city formation is a main driving force gentesness community, area (8 per followed cent). As by regards the Centro producer Histórico-Pa service in the production of a new CBD. The crucial point here the headquarters of foreign-owned and producer ser- andfirms, the of new which CBD the are vast very majority close to eachis classified other. 43.3 among per is that thereFig. is a 3specific), which geography corresponds to the to locationsthe spatial of the financial and insurance subsectors, the traditional Figure 1. vice firms ( CBD,cent ofwith the thesales Insurgentes of those producer area being service by farfirms the which most Thedistribution new CBD of primeaccounts office for space 48 per shown cent in of the sales importantfigure in the submarket list of the (28.9 Big 500 per are cent). controlled The new in CBD the hasold

Top 500 companies, as compared to 27 per cent of the headquartered in Santa Fe and another 10.6 per cent traditionalof the foreign-owned CBD. Santa firms Fe alone figuring makes in upthe 19 list per of cent the from41.8 percompanies cent, of inwhich the Periférico 17.9 per cent Sur area.come from firms - Now, how can the questions raised at the beginning of twoof the submarkets sales of foreign are clearly firms, characterised followed by Lomasby foreign Pal this chapter be answered in the light of the evidence companies,mas (17 per whichcent) andaccount Polanco for 63(15 per per centcent). of The sales first of presented? Firstly, it is quite obvious that there is a - theDIE Big ERDE 500 · Vol. firms 144 in · 1/2013Santa Fe and for 78 per cent in Lo specific geography to foreign corporate presence in9 Shifting corporate geographies in global cities of the South: Mexico City and Johannesburg as case studies

Tab. 1 National headquarters of national and international companies in Metropolitan Johannesburg. Source: own calculation based on Financial Mail’s Top Companies 2005.

Mexico City which concentrates strongly in the new tionary phenomenon? Is the ‘global city zone’ re-ap- CBD and namely in Santa Fe and Lomas Palmas. Sec- propriating the more central urban spaces? Before discussing these questions, we will turn to the devel- result is less clear, because these are located in both opment of the corporate geography in Johannesburg. ondly, with regard to the producer service firms, the In a similar vein, in Johannesburg the locational pat- twothe old CBDs and supports the new CBD.the thesis However, of a a spatiallycloser look delimit at the- terns of national and foreign companies indicate that ableownership ‘global relationscity zone’. ofIn financialthe old CBD, institutions 44.6 per cent in the of - nomic sectors, namely the established banks as well in the new CBD Mexican capital accounts for only asthe the traditional resource-based CBD is moreeconomy confined with headquartersto the ‘old’ eco of 29.7the sales per cent.are realised The difference by nationally becomes owned even firms, clearer while if smaller South African mining companies and global we compare the two largest submarkets – the Insur- gentes area and Santa Fe. While in the former 48.5 per (Fig. 4). The pattern is, however, less clear than in Mex- - icoresource City. On players the one like hand Anglo there American are other or South BHP AfricanBilliton ‘giants’ which have headquarters located in Rosebank cent of the producer service firms’s sales are generat (Sasol) or in Sandton (SAB Miller, FirstRand), which theed by Insurgentes national firms, area arein the not latter only nationally it is only 13 owned, per cent. but indicates a shift to the north that already set in be- alsoMoreover, oriented some towards of the biggestthe domestic financial market. institutions The sec in- fore the end of apartheid. The departure of the Johan- nesburg stock exchange away from the old CBD to submarket are Infonavit and FOVISSSTE, foundations establishedond and fifth in biggest 1972 inproducer order to service facilitate providers the access in this of exodus of businesses away from the inner city. On the workers to housing credits. Nafin, the Mexican devel- otherSandton hand, in 2000 it is ratheris referred obvious to as that the finalSandton event and of the opment bank, is the fourth biggest company in this dis- other new areas in the north are more frequently used trict. Thus, althourgh the rise of the producer service by incoming foreign companies. sector includes the old as well as the new CBD, the more externally oriented segment is biased towards Santa Fe In order to offer a more systematic overview and to and Lomas Palmas. There is, in sum, a spatially delimit- possibly identify a spatially delimitable ‘global city able ‘global city zone’ in Mexico City, which corresponds zone’, we have located the national headquarters of the biggest national and international companies has been concentrated in recent years. within the research area (see Fig. 4 and Tab. 1). This to the real estate submarkets where prime floor space analysis reveals a complex picture. National com- Yet, the above analysis of the real estate market has panies dominate the traditional CBD, Rosebank and shown that Polanco and Paseo de la Reforma are currently the most dynamic zones for the construction Bryanston area and along the N1 motorway are char- even Sandton. Only new northern office spaces in the expansion of the new, global, CBD into the districts of which account for about 50-60 per cent of the compa- theof prime old, more office national, space. Could one? this Are, mean in other a geographical words, the niesacterised there. by The a predominance same holds true of foreign-owned for Midrand, wherefirms, observed shifts in the corporate geography a transi- important global companies have their national head-

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quarters. The northern areas, which come near to be- of foreign companies is not as sharp as in the Mexi- ing globalised zones, are characterised by headquar- can case. This is a result of at least two structuring ters of the electronic and data processing sectors (Dell, forces: Firstly, the more mixed situation is caused by Samsung, Dimension Data in Bryanston; Nokia, Sie- intertwined locational dynamics which started in mens, Sony in Midrand) as well as other global and na- late apartheid times and shortly afterwards, when national companies left the traditional CBD in order areas expand geographically with the highest rates to relocate in Sandton and surrounding areas where (seetional Fig. companies. 2), especially It is sincenot surprising the recovery that ofthese the Southoffice incoming global companies also set up their (South) African economy in the late 1990s, which were marked African headquarters. Secondly, the lack of available by the removal of exchange controls, privatisation and - other strategies such as the Growth, Employment and tern. The vacancy rates, especially of triple A-Grade Redistribution Programme serving to attract foreign office space is another reason for the locational pat direct investment (cf. Newell et al. 2002). Returning to and this is especially true for Johannesburg. Most tri- pleoffice A-Grade space, rentals are very are low located throughout in the greater South Africa,Sand- national companies, as stated above, but similarly by ton area, but without any notable vacancy rates. Al- Sandton again, we find that it is also characterised by ready business voices start to warn that this shortage may become another limiting factor for business and amongspecific them. sectors; It hosts it is nearlythe prime 60 percent location of for the the regional FIRE- job growth in Johannesburg. This market situation sector firms, and many international companies are prompts locational decisions driven by the supply why the CBD of Sandton is perceived as an outstanding side which means that additional spatial preferences symbolheadquarters for global of foreign city development financial companies. in Africa ( Beavon This is do not come into effect. 2005). Thus, there is a spatially delimitable ‘global the vicinity operating as the globalised CBD of Johan- 4. Analysis II: driving forces in the production of a nesburg,city zone’, whereas with Sandton the old CBD and is smaller more related office areasto South in new corporate geography African companies. Nevertheless, the spatial distribu- - Grant and Nijman’s ture. As indicated above, South African companies namely that changes in the spatialities of urban econ- andtion internationalof office space ones does are not both reflect strongly a dualistic represented struc omiesOur results are closely so far confirmtied to the new roles cities findings, assume in the northern suburbs. Also, the old CBD has not yet in the global political economy, as Grant and Nijman been written off, as recent investments such as the (2002) suggest. There is, however, more to the pro- headquarter of Zurich (the Swiss insurance company) duction of new corporate geographies than private in the inner-city area of Newtown indicate. Due to high - fact, companies cannot – and will not – set out to pro- ical will of the government – an upgrade of the histori- ducesector a firmsnew CBD choosing in just sites any forplace. their Adequate headquarters. space for In caldemand heart for of theoffice city space is under – and way also within because the offramework the polit large-scale urban projects must be available, or, more of a further “City Improvement District” (cf. Didier et precisely, made available: if no ‘empty’ space is on hand in appropriate locations, space must be cleared. 2008, gross rents for A-grade buildings have increased In addition, ‘clean space’ must be developed, that is, andal. 2012). vacancies In consequence, have dropped. before Compared the financial to other crisis areas in provided with the basic infrastructure such as roads, however, the rents are still low, and interestingly, Jo- sewers, electricity, running water etc. Since such inhannesburg’s CBD has been hit hardest by the crisis, frastructure in general requires large investments, especially compared to the decentralised prime nodes it is commonly not private investors who cover the (JLL 2011: 4). A certain revival of the old CBD is ob- costs, but public authorities (Harvey 1985). servable, but due to its decline in the 1980s and 1990s Santa Fe provides an excellent example for such a only recently been extended to Johannesburg’s central railwayand due tostation) ongoing this traffic location congestion remains (the less Gautrain attractive has The development of Santa Fe began in the early 1980s, than the new business nodes in the north. whenstate driventhe then reconfiguration ‘regente’ of the ofFederal corporate District geography.6, Carlos Hank González from the PRI, the party that governed It is obvious that in Johannesburg the contrast be- Mexico from the end of the Mexican Revolution until tween the locational preferences of national and 2000, wished to develop the sector west of the city

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centre. By then, these areas had served for sand min- tively close to Paseo de la Reforma) into “a centre of ing for many construction works in Mexico City and real estate investment” (Gamboa de Buen 1994: 239, later as a garbage dump. Based on a decree from 1984, own translation), the ZEDEC and the Master Plan the municipality began to expropriate holders in the Santa Fe area and to acquire land at very low prices. and ad-hoc planning (Gamboa de Buen 2006). Thus, - SERVIMETwere well suited could carrybecause on theywithout allowed lengthy for andflexibility costly ered momentum, when the PRIista Carlos Salinas de bureaucratic procedures. It continued to accumulate GortariHowever,, whose it was career not until was 1988 nurtured that the by project Carlos gathHank land holdings, either by buying them at still extreme- González, became Mexican president and his fellow ly low prices or by further expropriations. In total, party member Manuel Camacho Solís ‘regente’ in the some 400-500 families who lived in or very close to Federal District. In that time, when both the Mexican the dump were relocated.In a next step, SERVIMET and the urban economies recovered from the collapse began to negotiate with potential private investors. of import substitution in 1982 and when NAFTA was – that of the public limited company and that of a de- factoSince partthe firm of the could city’s play administration two cards at the– it samewas rathtime- capital.negotiated, Santa inflow Fe was of expected foreign investment not only to increased, meet this er successful. Between 1993, when the Mall “Centro demand.which drove Rather, the thedemand remaking for prime of Santa office Fe “fromspace dumpin the Comercial Santa Fe”, also developed by SERVIMET, to super city”, as a Mexican newspaper put it (El Norte, 1992-03 03, own translation), was envisioned as the some 3,000 million US$ were invested in Santa Fe. 43 emblem of Mexico’s (hoped-for) successful transfor- peropened cent andof this when investment the first went firms into arrived, elite residential and 2006, mation to a ‘First World’, service-oriented economy. (1.1 million m²), and 14 per cent into shopping malls, The way to promote Santa Fe was SERVIMET (Ser- hotelsareas (1.4and restaurants million m²), (460,000 30 per cent m²) into(Gamboa office de space Buen 2006). SERVIMET’s revenues, which were high due to 1977 by the city government. SERVIMET, which is the fact that the land had been acquired extremely stillvicios owned Metropolitanos by the city, S.A. was de originally C.V.), a firm in charge founded of cheaply and sold to private investors for 2,000 US$ per constructing and administering parking lots. In the - 1980s, SERVIMET became responsible for a con- where, in part re-invested to provide infrastructure trolled and planned urban development, mainly inm², Santa were Fe in ( partJones used and Moreno-Carrancoto finance urban projects2007: 151) else7. through the promotion of private investment in ur- In sum, the development of Santa Fe shows that the for Controlled Development” (Zonas Especiales de production of new corporate geographies is not Desarrolloban (mega)-projects. Controlado, Therefore, ZEDEC) werethe “Specific introduced Zones in achieved solely by private sector companies. Nor is 1987 as an urban planning tool. According to the the role of national or local governments confined to Santa Fe ZEDEC and the corresponding “Master Pro- the implementation of liberalisation policies. Rath- gram for the Improvement” of that area, land use was er, the concrete shaping of the spatial reordering to change. Through expropriations and purchases in Mexico City, which happened as a consequence of land the municipality came to control an area of of the city’s new external connections to the world market, depended critically on public intervention think about an alternative CBD, prime commercial through new laws (allowing for expropriation), new centres840 hectares and a high-income which allowed residential the city’s area. officials to planning instruments (allowing for more flexibil- ity) and new actors (allowing for the blurring of the The goal behind the implementation of the Santa Fe public-private divide, Parnreiter 2011). ZEDEC was, according to Jorge Gamboa de Buen, during Camacho Solís’s rule as director of the “Depart- As for the development of a new CBD in Johannesburg, - we also identify a mix of different driving forces, two eral District and today director of “Grupo Danhos”, of which are more related to internal affairs and two ament major of Urbanprivate Reordering sector developer and Housing” in Mexico in theCity, Fed “to others more to external dynamics. In addition, there adjust the land prices to their potential for develop- has been strong political support for the goal of en- ment” (Gamboa de Buen 1994: 130; own translation). - In order to achieve the transformation of the perfectly ture is related to apartheid and its transformation. located dump (adjunct to an exit to the west and rela- Duringforcing apartheida global city (1948-1994), development. Johannesburg A first ‘inner’ was feathe

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centre of the resource-based South African economy lar South African companies as ‘global players’ and headquarters within Johannesburg’s CBD (e.g. De space, including the service suppliers engaged in sup- Beers,and the Anglo majority American). of the hugeOne reason mining why firms this had old their CBD portingsuggests the an process increasing of ‘going demand global’. for additional office lost its importance is the demise of apartheid, which equally meant the end of a legally guaranteed pre- Fourthly, many foreign companies (re-)entered South dominance of the ‘white’ population group in the in- Africa in 1994 and afterwards in order to compete ner city (and similarly in white-collar occupations). on the domestic and Sub-Saharan markets. Foreign With the increasing insecurity related to the political investment grew from R 36,334 million (1994) to R unrest in the 1980s the CBD came to be seen as a dan- 355,088 million (2005), which means an increase of gerous place, with an increasing incidence of violent nearly 1,000 per cent. Companies, especially from the crime. This development may be seen as a push factor UK, have invested in the South African economy, but

Germany, have also increased their activities since Acausing second the internal so-called impulse ‘northern for the flight’ production of businesses. of a new thefirms year from 2000. other Mining, leading automotive economies, industries like the andUS andthe corporate geography is the pull factor of improved accessibility. The predominance of private transpor- to which FDI is going, with each receiving roughly tation favours locations near to highways, gated resi- financial industries are the main economic sectors dential areas and airports. Within this perspective the - greater Sandton area and Midrand are locations with paredone third to other of the emerging inward marketflows. Although economies, FDI they inflows have important interchange functions between the older to South Africa have been significantly smaller com areas of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Their geographi- especially in Johannesburg, the city which serves as cal positions next to the point where the circular high- thespurred global the hub demand for Sub-Saharan for representative Africa. Thisoffice kind space, of way between West and East Rand meets the main axis foreign investment has accelerated the growth of new to the north provide connections to all relevant locations within Gauteng province, including Pretoria and other urbanised areas around Johannesburg, as well office areas in and around Sandton and in Bryanston. as the international airport. The new rapid transpor- are responsible for spatial changes in Johannesburg. tation system, Gautrain, will strengthen the position Fifthly, and finally, neoliberal forms of urban policies- of Sandton in particular as the central node. Thus, down of 1997, various programmes and agencies the new corporate geography of Johannesburg is not favouringAfter apartheid, commercial and especially and real after estate the fiscalinvestments break only driven by the private sector but by the state as have been introduced in order to reshape the urban - economy and architecture (Parnell and Robinson ferent locations to the north of the old CBD, whereas 2006; Lipietz 2008). Based on principles of privati- thewell. state Private has businessimproved has their created locational office advantages spaces at dif by sation and strong declarations which announced an providing the necessary infrastructural components, such as the backbones of transport. between 1997 and 2004 saw a variety of strategic pa- persimproved and new efficiency bodies and focussing competitiveness, on economic the growth years - and the stimulation of the real estate sector. A docu- lated to features of post-apartheid development, two ment called “Joburg 2030”, elaborated in 2002/03, While these first two driving forces are strongly re- put forward the vision for Johannesburg as “Africa’s pulse for the development of a new CBD results from world class city”, based on cluster policies, infra- theothers success reflect of those globalisation South African processes. companies A third which im structural investments for the national and global hub areas of the city. In so doing, the politics of urban onwards. Despite the above-mentioned ‘northern fragmentation set in, favouring the FIRE sector and intensified their international business from 1994 its spatial form. “One prime example in Johannes- strong resource-based multinationals such as Anglo flight’, the Johannesburg CBD is still the home base of services in the northern suburbs of the city: an area among the drivers of foreign economic activities, as nowburg hugely is the congested concentration and needing of financial urgent and infrastruc business- indicatedAmerican by and foreign BHP Billeton.direct investment, Mining companies which grew are tural renewal. It is also one of the wealthiest, former by about 255 per cent between 1993 and 2004. This white areas of the city. Controversially, a pro-growth increase reveals the strong position of these particu- budget, then, could prioritise infrastructural invest-

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ment to support this cluster in the wealthiest areas of ‘global city zones’. This material transformation has the town to the north above the dense, overcrowded led to architectural layouts which aim at symbolis- and poorly serviced areas of the south of the city, ining the success of these cities within a competitive cluding Soweto” (Parnell and Robinson 2006: 350). economic environment and serves as legitimation for neoliberal urban policies. As far as we can already While the extreme neoliberal option has been trans- balance further external opportunities, pressures formed according to the “Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa” (ASGISA) and al- for both cities and additionally from the Soccer World though later urban planning papers like the urban Cupand challengesin Johannesburg, which derivethere fromare no the deviations financial crisisfrom “Growth and Development Strategy” (GDS) of 2006 em- the general picture outlined above. In Mexico the va- phasise social integration, participation and an equiv- cancy rate doubled, but there was a quick recovery, in alent weight of top-down and bottom-up strategies, Johannesburg the old CBD suffered most whereas the the support for the old and new commercial districts globalised city zones experienced the crush as tem- remains undisputed (cf. Oranje 2012). The Johannes- porarily slack similar to Mexico City. In the meantime burg Development Agency, which was created in 2001 the old CBD of Johannesburg has caught up again. together with district management bodies, is active in improving the general conditions for investments in Obviously, both cases illustrate clearly forms, inten- selected areas. Surprisingly, the GDS is very aware of sities and dependencies of the global integration on the inherent contradictions of this kind of development going dynamics which shape the urban fabric. There when it says that “the more successful Johannesburg are clear proofs which support the notion of distinct is today the greater will be its development challenge global city zones, especially in Mexico City, but in Jo- tomorrow” (GDS 2006: 54). As the xenophobic riots hannesburg, too, and it is possible to identify those in 2008 as well as so-called service delivery protests global players who are responsible for it. But beside in the following years revealed, this ambiguity is un resolved. Growing disparities and social unrest will external links and to extend the position suggested by challenge the further expansion of the corporate geo Grantthis first and glance Nijman we. In have the tocase go ofbeyond Johannesburg the focus the on ‘exthe- graphy of Johannesburg as described above. with national economic trends as well as with the mac- ro-ogenous’ and micropolitics influences of of globalisation the post-apartheid have been state blended and its in Johannesburg is blurred to a higher extent than neoliberal agenda from the beginning. Even in Mexico inThe Mexico specific City geography by national of foreign and local corporate determinants presence – City, where new global city zones had been set aside Sandton, Bryanston and the edge city Midrand are Jo- hannesburg’s most ‘globalised’ zones, but, even here, this clear picture has been blurred in the last years. the new corporate geography is not as clearly spatial- Therethe old are urban at least morphology indications before for a the recentralisation financial crisis, of ly delimitable as in Mexico. foreign corporate presence in the traditional CBD in both cities today. While we alluded to this phenomenon for the case of Johannesburg already in pre-crisis 5. Conclusion times, supported by new arrivals of global companies in the last years, it is important to hint at very recent The analysis presented here shows that in Mexico City developments at Paseo de la Reforma in Mexico City, as well as in Johannesburg the corporate geographies which currently is one of the “hot-spots” for the con- - pact of globalisation processes. Combining an analy- have been transformed significantly due to the im struction of first-class office space and luxury housing.- ence of the territorial form. In order to comprehen- sis of the development of the market for first-class- sivelyDue to understand these findings the therechanges is no in clearthe corporate scale depend geo vancedoffice space by Grant with andan analysis Nijman of(2002) locational for the patterns cases of graphies in the two cities it is necessary to direct Accramajor andcompanies, Mumbai: we Both could in Mexicoconfirm City two and notions in Johan ad- more attention to local and national dynamics. As nesburg the corporate geography becomes restruc- argued in the second part of our study, the restructuring of the built environment in both cities can only cities are incorporated into the global economy, and be grasped fully by considering the particular role of intured both with cities changes we can inalso the identify specific spatially way in delineatedwhich the local and national governments in this reshaping of

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the urban environment. Thus, rather than just imple- company, accounting for 14 per cent of the BIG 500 sales, is lo- menting global dynamics, local and national govern- cated outside both the traditional and the new CBD. ments proved to be crucial actors in driving the re- 6 The Federal District is the inner part of Mexico City, which until structuring of the corporate presence in Mexico City 1997 was mandated by the Federal Government and hence gov- and in Johannesburg. They try to establish showcases erned not by an elected mayor, but by a ‘regente’ appointed by the of a successful transformation of the economy and the Mexican president. city or – more general – an imagined globalised urban 7 Nevertheless, poor infrastructure and road connections to other economy using the materiality of the real estate sec- parts of the city remain a constant problem. tor. In this way local actors enable a transformation of the urban landscape according to the assumed im- peratives of urban competiveness. They help to create References globalised city zones as, at least partly, voluntary local subjection under global capitalism. Beavon, K.S.O. 2005: Changes in the ordering of Johannesburg’s spatial domain, 1990-2002. – In: Raiser, S. and K. Volkmann Finally, our research question and the case studies (eds.): Emerging patterns of the global city region: spatial show that an approach, which has been labeled here changes in Johannesburg, Mumbai/Bombay, Shanghai and São as corporate geography, borrowed by Grant and Paulo. – Arbeitspapiere des Osteuropa-Instituts der Freien Uni- Nijman , is an appropriate starting point to describe versität Berlin 53/2005: 11-32 in a systematic way how local transformation pro- Bond, P. 2000: Cities of gold, townships of coal. Essays on South cesses of the real estate market and office space Africa’s new urban crisis. – Trenton, NJ location operate in globalising cities of the South. Chakraworty, S. 2000: From colonial city to globalizing city? The It helps us to relate spatial form to economic and far-from-complete spatial transformation of Calcutta. – In: political processes as well as to reveal the materi- Marcuse, P. and R. van Kempen (eds.): Globalizing cities: a new ality of the imagined urban economy. In this way spatial order? – Oxford: 56-77 the shifting corporate geographies are additional Ciccolella, P. and I. Mignaqui 2002: Buenos Aires: sociospatial im- building blocks in order to understand recent dy- pacts of the development of global city functions. – In: Sassen, S. namics of global capitalism in the context of global (ed.): Global networks, linked cities. – London: 309-326 city formation and politics of urban neoliberalism. Crankshaw, O. and S. Parnell 2004: Johannesburg: race, inequality, and urbanization. – In: Gugler, J. (ed.): World cities beyond the West. Globalization, development, and inequality. – Cambridge: Notes 348-370 De Mattos, C., M.E. Ducci, A. Rodríguez y G. Yáñez Warner (eds.) 2004: 1 Data in the following section draw on real estate reports of (al- phabetical order): CB Richard Ellis, Colliers International, Cush- Chile Santiago en la globalización: ¿Una nueva ciudad? – Santiago de

no systematic information is available. man & Wakefield and Jones Lang LaSalle. For years prior to 1997 Expansión (Various years): Las 500 empresas más importantes de 2 Fainstein, S.S. 1994: The city builders. Property, politics, and plan- México. – CNN/Expansión, México D.F. Centro, Polanco, Lomas Palmas, Bosques de las Lomas, Santa Fe, ning in London and New York. – Oxford Real estate agents identify nine office submarkets: Reforma/ Periférico Sur, Insurgentes, Interlomas, Lomas Altas (see Fig. 1). Fainstein, S.S. 2008: Mega-projects in New York, London and In very recent years, a tenth submarket (Norte) was added, due Amsterdam. – In: International Journal of Urban and Regional to the opening of Mexico City’s technopark in the northern dis- Research 32 (4): 768-785 trict of Azcapotzalco. Gamboa de Buen, J. 3 Midrand was incorporated into Johannesburg when the latter was D.F. 1994: Ciudad de México, una visión. – México consolidated into a single metropolitan authority (“UniCity”) in Gamboa de Buen, J. 2006: The Santa Fe node: its beginnings. – 2000. Paper Presented at the Urban Age Mexico City Conference, 4 Data refer to the Metropolitan area. PEMEX, the state-owned oil 23-25 February, 2006. – online available at: www.urban-age. company, accounting for 14 per cent of the BIG 500 sales, is lo- net, 04/08/2009 cated outside both the traditional and the new CBD. Glasze, G., C. Webster and K. Frantz (eds.) 2006: Private cities. Glob- 5 The fact that the old and the new CBD represent together only al and local perspectives. –London, New York 56 per cent of the sales of the Big 500 (and thus three fourth of Globalization and World Cities Research Network 2009: The world the sales of the largest companies, which are headquartered in according to GaWC 2008. – online available at: www.lboro. Mexico City) is due to the fact that PEMEX, the state-owned oil ac.uk/gawc/world2008.html, 04/08/2009

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