Introduction: toward a deeper conceptualisation of cosmopolitanism in global cities

This chapter provides a brief overview of what cosmopolitan cities are. In times of economic downturn, these cities (e.g. Auckland, Berlin, Dubai, Hong Kong, Istanbul, London, Shanghai) demonstrate remarkable resilience to downward trends in their nation’s economy, which suggests that their entrepreneurship is highly sustainable. The chapter explains the general purpose of the book - to investigate many elements of the global cities’ environment, how it is formed, what actors shape it, and how urban governing bodies, together with many other stakeholders, develop it. This introductory chapter shows why the book focuses on entrepreneurship and gender issues, such as the experience of men and women, and local vs. expatriate women doing business in cosmopolitan cities. Furthermore, the introduction draws attention to the Eastern European cities that most readers would not instantly associate with cosmopolitanism – Moscow and Kyiv. The chapter introduces the book’s main argument: as sustainable entrepreneurship in global cities is key to ensuring their prosperity, successful entrepreneurship rests on the two pillars of the cosmopolitan environment – diversity and creation of business opportunities. In addition, the introduction explains why certain topics were chosen for this volume and elucidates the book’s structure.