Communication networks, cities, and informal economies

The global city is conventionally defined as a central hub in a network of flows---of capital, people, goods, and images. However, if we shift our focus away from the formal indicators of economic power and towards the grey and black economies, we encounter a rather different map of global connectivity and cultural provision. The chapter considers the relationship between informal media distribution and formal cultural policy, with reference to circuits of media piracy in Asia, Africa and Latin America.