Viewpoint: Dealing with trade-offs in comparative urban studies

Abstract

Comparative urban studies (CUS) are a widespread applied research approach across various disciplines. The increasing importance that has recently been given to this research method goes hand in hand with the lack of attention paid to various methodological trade-offs surrounding CUS. These trade-offs are a result of the two contrasting poles that CUS tries to pay attention to: the universal one that applies to all cities and the specific one that applies to one city at a defined time and location.This viewpoint seeks to uncover these trade-offs, discuss strategies about how to deal with them and explore the corresponding consequences in order to support approaches to a) critically reflect on the consequences of methodological decisions; and b) incorporate procedures which might help to resolve some of these difficulties and limitations. The arguments presented here help to sensitise researchers in their applied and theoretical work for the potential opportunities of CUS. We hope to foster the debate about CUS and contribute to the development of robust and methodically precise CUS which balance the intricate coalition between theoretical concepts and the empirical reality.