The Empire City, The Big Apple, Gotham or the City that Never Sleeps. These are just a few nicknames referring to the one and only, New York City. An important global hub since its invention, the city, in the current capitalist and personal freedom-driven era, has become the symbol of influence, endless possibilities and success, and the ultimate model of the modern urban lifestyle. However, New York City is not just the “concrete jungle where dreams are made of”, as described in Jay-Z`s famous Empire State of Mind song. Its political and international significance should not be underestimated, as it has consolidated several economic, peace-making and cultural transnational organisations. This blog will explore the history of New York City and address the city`s significance as an international hub, focusing particularly on the UN Headquarters located there. The blog will conclude that the trip to New York City and the tour around the UN building will provide students with an exceptional opportunity to explore this immensely diverse environment and enable them to engage in a non-traditional learning style beyond the classroom boundaries.
The success of New York City is rooted in its prime characteristic – continuous and rapid change (Lankevich, 2002, p. 1). The speed of the city`s development has made it the hegemon among other cities worldwide, many of which had existed for centuries before the first Europeans had even settled in the area around the Hudson River in the early 17th century, and before the arrival of the Dutch, who established the city and called it New Amsterdam. In the subsequent decades, the city as well as the whole colony became the battleground for the Dutch and the English and their imperialistic conflicts, until the year 1674 when the Treaty of Westminster was signed between the two rivals. By that time, however, the city and the colony had already been renamed into English, New York, in honour of James, the Duke of York. Since then, the city`s importance has only grown as a port city for imports and exports, fueling trade, including the slave trade. In the late 18th and early 19th century, New York also became the political and cultural centre, where the first anti-royalist movements started their activities. During the War of Independence, New York was occupied by the English, and as soon as the war ended, the city was assosiated with freedom, liberty and American independence – something it has symbolised and symbolizes until the present day.
In the following decades, New York became the capital of the newly established United States of America, but also a hub on the international level, with many people from all across the world immigrating here, helping to transform the city in size and into a diverse and multicultural centre. New York saw many significant developmental changes in the 19th and 20th centuries, making it the hub of the media industry, the leader in public transport and architecture infrastructure and entertainment, with many museums, theatres and fashion boutiques opening their doors to the city`s growing population and increasing number of visitors. During the 20th century, fast forward to the current days, the city, like many other metropolises around the world, has become home to both the poor and the wealthy. Despite the fear and criticism of over-urbanisation, New York City continues to prosper, and an end to its glory does not seem to be in sight. At least as long as it is the centre of many significant domestic and international organisations.
One of the most important international organisations with a significant worldwide impact is the United Nations (UN). The League of Nations, founded in 1918, failed to prevent the Second World War, which led to calls for its replacement. Therefore, in 1945, the United Nations was founded to protect world peace, with the motto articulated as “Peace, dignity and equality on a healthy planet” (United Nations, 2025). Since its foundation, it has significantly grown in size and activities: from the original 51 Member States in 1945 to the current 193 Member States. Crucially, the UN has and continues to be an irreplaceable player in many international peacekeeping missions, actively works and pushes countries and politicians to adopt policies to protect the climate, and its soft power effects in the form of Nobel Peace Prizes and other symbolic activities should not be underestimated.
Despite the first session of the General Assembly being held in London, the UN moved to New York City shortly after its foundation, in 1946; however, the current headquarters building in Manhattan was fully constructed later, in 1952. Much of the UN Secretariat, including the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, is located in New York City, with other major offices in Vienna, Geneva, and Nairobi, as well as five Regional Economic Commissions in various parts of the world. Many UN employees and volunteers are also in war zones and locations shrouded by poverty, hunger, or violence (United Nations, 2025). Despite its activities in many different areas, the UN has faced criticism for not addressing the inequalities created by the capitalist, modern imperialist world order, and has not been successful in preventing the current conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza. However, the UN remains the symbol of international cooperation and transnational diplomacy, creating a space for debate on pressing issues between countries with different interests.
In a sense, New York City and the United Nations have a lot in common. The similarities that stand out are their diversity, multiculturalism and the fact that both are filled with people and are for the people. What would New York City be without its residents and without tourists? And for whom would the UN maintain peace and protect human rights if not for people and by people? And yet, both New York City and the UN may be seen as almost out of reach, especially for a group of young, curious students in London, who, until now, could only read, watch and listen to what it is like to be in New York City and visit Times Square, Central Park, or the Wall Street, or follow and study all the different UN missions, its purposes and commitments, without really understanding how the organisation works on the day-to-day basis. The upcoming, transformative field trip will change this. Students will get the opportunity to explore the city and the UN Headquarters there. These four immensely exciting days will provide students with valuable information, experiences and insights into both New York City and the United Nations through a non-traditional approach to education, which prioritises informal learning through a live-through experience rather than, or in combination with, classroom teaching. The students participating will represent their university, building confidence, critical thinking, and also having fun while exploring the two critical international centres.
References
FLANNIGAN, J. (2011). A History of NYC Nicknames, Time Out New York Magazine, [online]. Available from: https://web.archive.org/web/20200814100553/https://www.timeout.com/newyork/attractions/a-history-of-nyc-nicknames-history. [Accessed 27 April 2025].
HANHIMAKI, J.M. (2008). United Nations: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press. Available from: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/westminster/reader.action?docID=430915&ppg=16. [Accessed 27 April 2025].
LANKEVICH, G.J. (2002). New York City: A Short History, NYU Press. Available from: https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=_A1GDIGAyTQC&dq=%22New+york+city%22&lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s. [Accessed 27 April 2025].
THIS IS HISTORY (2024). How New York Became The Worlds Greatest City, [online]. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCEN5h1JvoM. [Accessed 27 April 2025].
UNITED NATIONS (2025). Available from: https://www.un.org/en/about-us. [Accessed 27 April 2025].
Renata Pernegrova