Reflections on Conducting Urban Comparison

Abstract

Interest in comparative urbanism has increased in recent years. Scholarly discussions, however, have tended to focus on theorizing comparative urbanism rather than engaging in comparative research, with little attention paid to the lives of urban residents. This article engages in these discussions, entering from the perspective of a geographer who conducts comparative urban research. The focus is on a recently completed project, Youth and the City, and reflects on the nature of the project, its methodology, and the comparative analysis that emerged from it. The highlighting of young people's experiences of urban life in three cities—Lusaka, Recife, and Hanoi—illustrates that how the urban is experienced depends on who you are and the spaces you negotiate. Whose urban is being focused on greatly affects the nature of the comparisons being undertaken, and needs to be incorporated into debates on comparative urbanism.

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