Fast Cities(2/3)
From Chicago to Shanghai, urban centers that are shaping our future

Creative-Class Meccas
Shanghai, China
China’s historic center for innovation has emerged more recently as a magnet for Western-owned corporate design centers and research labs. The clash of old and new gives rise to an exhilarating sense of possibility.

New York, New York
Love it or not, New York has among the highest proportions in the nation of college-educated foreign residents, of ethnic restaurants, and of small businesses. It also has 42 million tourists, a reinvigorated stock market, and a plan from Mayor Michael Bloomberg to make the city more eco-friendly.

San Francisco, California
Is there a more continuously creative city in the world? The epicenter of U.S. entrepreneurship is still tied to Silicon Valley’s fortunes, but it’s also hatching its own digital-media sector and a biotech and biomedical hub around UCSF.
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Since 2001, the nation has played down historic tied to Europe in favor of homegrown culture. So Buenos Aires’s Palermo SOHO district has emerged as a design hub, with more than 300 new shops and studios and a slew of upstart film- and television-production companies.

Global Villages
Toronto, Canada
Toronto’s embrace of diversity extends into every corner: There are 29 major film festivals this year, convering nearly every micro-genre. The skyline boasts silhouettes from architects as varied as Frank Gehry, I.M. Pei, and Santiago Calatrava.

Johannesburg, South Africa
South Africa has long been the economic engine of sub-Saharan Africa. Now, Jo-burg is the political and cultural nexus too, attracting business execs and tourists from across the continent. The attractions: good infrastructure, the world’s largest container terminal, and an airport with global connections.

Berlin, Germany
Berlin is broke and unemployment is sky-high – but talent from all over the world, drawn by reasonable rents, acres of studio space, and a rebellious, daring spirit, is fueling a red-hot design, fashion, and architecture scene, while world-class research centers spin off technology startups.

Vocabulary Focus
magnet (n) --- a person, place or thing that people feel strongly attracted to 磁铁；有魅力的人、事物或地方
hatch (v) --- to produce or create something 孵育；培养
slew (n) --- a large amount or number 大量
fuel (v) --- to supply a system with something that increases or strengthens it 促进；给……加油
Specialized terms
nexus (n) --- 枢纽 an important connection between the parts of a system or a group of things