Comparative Urbanism in Global Contexts

Comparative urbanism in global contexts interrogates the diverse trajectories, governance arrangements and socio-spatial processes that shape cities across regions. Moving beyond singular metropolitan paradigms, it employs cross-regional case studies to elucidate how global economic shifts, political economies and environmental challenges manifest unevenly in urban settings. This field integrates insights from Southern urbanism, critical political economy and sustainability transitions to reveal both convergent patterns—such as neoliberal land markets or climate-vulnerability—and context-specific innovations in housing, infrastructure and civic agency. By foregrounding variegated processes and transcalar interactions, comparative urbanism advances theoretical frameworks that account for local epistemologies and the contributions of secondary or “overlooked” cities. It also emphasises methodological pluralism, from multi-sited ethnography to network analysis and scenario modelling, fostering knowledge exchange between academic, policy and practitioner communities. Ultimately, comparative urbanism offers practical tools for designing more inclusive governance configurations, equitable housing strategies and resilient urban environments attuned to the variegated realities of a rapidly urbanising world.

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Comparative Urbanism in Global Contexts publication trend

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Technical terms

Comparative urbanism: The study of similarities and differences in urban processes, forms and governance across diverse geographical contexts.

Secondary city: A midsize urban centre that plays a critical role in regional development yet often lies outside global metropolitan hierarchies.

Transcalar: Pertaining to interactions and processes occurring across multiple spatial or administrative scales, from neighbourhoods to global networks.

Variegation: The differentiation of global economic and governance processes into distinct local manifestations.

References

1. Enabling connections between a multi-country urban research programme and the practices of an African urban research centre. npj Urban Sustainability (2023).
2. Overlooked cities: Shifting the gaze in research and practice in global urban studies. Cities (2023).
3. Towards a paradigm of Southern urbanism. City (2017).
4. Beyond variegation: The territorialisation of states, communities and developers in large-scale developments in Johannesburg, Shanghai and London. Urban Studies (2022).
5. The urban governance configuration: A conceptual framework for understanding complexity and enhancing transitions to greater sustainability in cities. Geography Compass (2021).