Thinking About Cities

Globalization and World Cities Research Network’s city classification.

I like thinking about the cities I visit and the org I work for and how it ties into the world.

Alpha level cities are linked to major economic states/regions and highly integrated into the world economy. Alpha level cities are classified into four sections: Alpha++, Alpha+, Alpha, and Alpha− cities.

My own personal history anchors in San Francisco (in my opinion the Bay Area itself should be considered at least an Alpha+ 'city' or Metro Area, Alpha- designation seems really tone-deaf to the relevance of SF in pushing technology and thus humanity forward... maybe that's just the technologist in me talking), San Diego (Gamma), Paris (Alpha) and now Portland (Sufficiency). With tendrils in many other American cities such as Seattle (Beta-, feels off) and Atlanta (Beta+). Edit from 2026: and now Nashville (Gamma) after three years working at Built.

Personally, I both feel the need to be in or around important cities, AND I feel the need to create opportunity for people who don’t. It’s a strange dichotomy that I’m wrapping up in a lot of mostly-unpublished-as-of-yet thinking I’ve been doing for the last year on Remote (or Distributed) Work.