Towards a relational comparative approach to the study of cities

Recent years have witnessed the beginnings of a renaissance in the field of comparative urban studies. The paper discusses this body of work’s history, drawing on contributions from across the social sciences. Following this it highlights some of the work’s limits, namely its weak theorization of place, scale and causality. The paper then offers a relational comparative approach to the study of cities as a means of attending to these limits. This acknowledges both the territorial and relational geographies behind the production of cities.