The chapter starts with an overview of theories about the way global economic restructuring affects local conditions in Western cities. Undoubtedly the most influential and comprehensive theoretical framework for local consequences of globalisation is Saskia Sassen’s work on global cities. The process of economic globalization, Sassen argues, presupposes locations that operate as loci of control: Global cities. The local government of Amsterdam and the businessmen who were active shortly after the war, have - in retrospect - done a tremendous service to Amsterdam by forcing the airport to expand where it is located today. The relatively large influx of richer immigrants in Amsterdam, compared to Rotterdam, may be a sign of growing disparity. The divergence between the two cities may be reduced somewhat by the strong national intervention policy - another key factor - to deal with both cities in very much the same way.

doi.org/10.4324/9781315186467-6, hdl.handle.net/1765/125786
Erasmus University Rotterdam

Burgers, J., & Musterd, S. (2019). Global and local determinants of social exclusion; amsterdam versus rotterdam. In Governing European Cities: Social Fragmentation, Social Exclusion and Urban (pp. 125–148). doi:10.4324/9781315186467-6