ABSTRACT
Philosophers have paid little attention to either the social science literature on global cities or the actual phenomenon of the rapid urbanization taking place globally. In this chapter, I briefly survey the key points made in the social scientific literature on global cities, and then examine one of the most recent phenomena – the construction of ghost cities; that is, the building and planning of cities that lack a sufficient number of inhabitants to warrant the size and scale of the city being built. These ghost cities are being built in the competition to attract global capital. I argue that the dire effects of global cities – particularly these ghost cities – including rising inequalities, dislocations of peoples, and growing environmental hazards – demand that philosophers pay attention to what is happening on the ground. And in doing so, we philosophers might both transform our thinking about philosophical methodology and key concepts, while also finding better ways to locate and stop social injustices.
