South-North Comparative Urbanism: Theory, Methods and Resources of Hope

Based on a recent international comparative study of Mumbai, Sao Paolo, London and Paris, Indrajit Roy and Simon Parker will explore some of the key theoretical approaches that guided their study as well as the comparative methods derived predominantly from studying urban informality in the Global South to understand how ‘resources of hope’ are generated in conditions of advanced precarity and urban marginalisation.

Following an initial presentation, participants will have the opportunity to discuss how the insights gained from the study of urban informality in the majority urban world could be applied to their own research as well as some of the practical methods used in the comparative research. The presenters will also discuss some of the challenges of developing coherent comparative South-North urban research and how such issues might be addressed in long form research projects, including doctoral dissertations and monographs as well as short form research papers.

Outcomes

Participants will:

• Gain insights into some of the key theoretical and methodological developments emerging from urban scholarship in the Global South and by Global South urban scholars;
• Have the opportunity to explore how contemporary research on urban informality in the majority urban world might inform and benefit their own research;
• Acquire a better understanding of the challenges of developing large-scale South-North comparative urban/regional research project, generating useable findings, and writing up and publishing the outputs in a PhD or book format as well as peer reviewed papers.

Contributors

Professor Indrajit Roy studies democratic deepening and societal transitions with a particular interest in the Global South. His specific research interests lie in studying contests over citizenship in the Rising Powers and other emerging markets, situating these at the interface of political change and social transformation. He was the Principal Investigator of ‘Citizenship Futures: The Politics of Hope’, a comparative study of Mumbai, London and Paris.

Professor Simon Parker is the Pathway Director of SPEL and Co-Director of the Centre for Urban Research (CURB) at the University of York. His research interests include comparative urban theory, urban policy and migration and urban settlements. He was Co-Investigator of ‘Citizenship Futures: The Politics of Hope’, a comparative study of Mumbai, London and Paris.