“New York City is a star—the city of cities,” wrote author John Gunther.（“纽约是一颗璀璨的明星——是城市之城，”作家约翰·冈瑟曾写道。） But what makes a city great?（但究竟是什么让一座城市变得伟大？） To answer this question, the creators of the Global Cities Index looked at the following:（为了回答这个问题，全球城市指数的创立者考察了以下几个方面：） Business – How many global companies are in the city? Does the city do a lot of international business?（商业——城市里有多少家跨国企业？这座城市开展了大量的国际贸易吗？） People – Does the city attract talented people from around the world? Are the city’s universities good? How many residents have college degrees?（人才——这座城市能否吸引来自世界各地的优秀人才？城里的大学是否优异？有多少居民拥有大学文凭？） Media – Is it easy to get information from different sources (TV, radio, Internet)? How many residents have Internet access?（资讯——通过不同渠道（电视、广播、互联网）获取信息是否便捷？有多少居民能够连接互联网？） Entertainment – Does the city have many entertainment options: museums, sports, music, and different types of restaurants?（娱乐——城市是否提供丰富的文娱选择：博物馆、体育运动、音乐以及各式各样的餐馆？） Politics – How many embassies and international organizations are in the city?（政治——城市中设立了多少外国使馆和国际机构？）

As the graph on the previous page shows, most cities on the Global Cities Index are strong in certain areas.（正如前页图表所示，全球城市指数中的大多数城市都在特定领域具备优势。） Beijing’s strength, for example, is business, while Los Angeles’s strength is people.（例如，北京的强项在于商业，而洛杉矶的优势在于人才。） New York, London, and Paris are at the top because they are strong in all five areas.（纽约、伦敦和巴黎之所以名列前茅，是因为它们在全部五个领域都表现强劲。）

Which cities will become more powerful in the future?（未来哪些城市会变得更加具有影响力？） Creators of the Global Cities Index predict the most growth in the following places:（全球城市指数的制定者预测以下地区将迎来最大增长：） Asia: Beijing and Shanghai are both business centers and will continue to grow. In a few years, they will be as powerful as New York. Other Chinese cities such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen will also grow. Indian cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi have a lot of business potential, too.（亚洲：北京和上海都是商业中心，并将持续增长。在短短几年内，它们的实力将与纽约比肩。广州、深圳等中国其他城市也将快速发展。孟买、新德里等印度城市也蕴含着巨大的商业潜力。） South America: Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo in Brazil, Buenos Aires in Argentina, and Bogotá in Colombia will become more powerful. In these cities, the middle class is growing, and life for many people is improving.（南美洲：巴西的里约热内卢和圣保罗、阿根廷的布宜诺斯艾利斯以及哥伦比亚的波哥大将变得更具实力。在这些城市，中产阶层正在扩大，许多人的生活正在改善。） The Middle East: Istanbul in Turkey, Cairo in Egypt, and the cities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi will hold more power in international politics and business—especially in helping East and West work together.（中东：土耳其的伊斯坦布尔、埃及的开罗以及阿拉伯联合酋长国的迪拜、阿布扎比等城市，将在国际政治和商业领域掌握更大话语权——特别是在促进东西方合作方面。）

In 10 years, the top cities on the index may be different, but one thing is certain: With over 50 percent of the world’s people now living in urban areas, tomorrow’s global cities will be more powerful than ever.（十年之后，指数榜单上的领军城市或许会有所更迭，但有一点毋庸置疑：随着全球过半人口生活在城市地区，明天的全球城市将比以往任何时候都更加强大。）