- Economic characteristics (corporate headquarters, financial output, cost of living)
- Political characteristics (active influence on and participation in international events and world affairs)
- Culture (notable museums, galleries, lively cultural and music scene, strong community, major sports facilities, educational institutions)
- Infrastructure (advanced transit systems and freeways, extensive mass transit, high-speed communications, prominent skylines).
It turns out that there is actually an organization called the GaWC that tracks all of these characteristics for cities around the world and ranks cities into categories. You have Alpha world cities like New York and London, followed by Beta and Gamma world cities, then you have cities with Sufficiency and High Sufficiency when it comes to these criteria. Spoiler Alert, we didn't do so well. In fact the 2008 report pegged San Jose as being only in the Sufficiency category.
My New Year's resolution is simple. I'm pledging to do whatever I can over the course of my life to help San Jose, regardless of how small it may seem, get from Sufficiency to Alpha World City status. It's a lofty goal, but I'm hoping that doing simple things such as promoting our vibrant culture and new developments will have a snowball effect and encourage more of the things that will put San Jose on the global radar.
