The alternative ontological, epistemological and methodological approaches that have been suggested by this very group of self-identifying ‘post-colonial’ urban researchers have led to some fierce academic debates. Coffee bar in Warsaw, Poland (picture by Jacek Dylag, Unsplash) Coffee gathering in Belo Horizonte, Brazil (picture by Helena Lopes, Unsplash) Instead of comparing cities by looking at their global economic connectivity or the extent to which local policies can be characterized by neoliberalism, they argue, we should instead focus on more particular, bottom-up empirical observations, preferably from locally embedded researchers, in order to nuance some of the frequently taken-for-granted political-economic presumptions that may come along with contemporary theories regarding globalization and its impact on the universal urban. For that reason, there have been voices within the academic field of urban studies lately which argue that urban theories should actually be less focused on universalizing assumptions. These cities are generally considered to be relatively ‘ off the map’ when it comes to theory or knowledge production within the academic field of urban studies. Singapore’s Central Area (picture by John, Flickr) View on Central Kigali, Rwanda (picture by Alex Proimos, Flickr)Īlthough these trends and images might indeed to some more or lesser extent apply to most of the widely-known world or global cities, there are still a lot of cities across the globe that have a large amount of inhabitants, but which do not quite correspond to such supposedly ‘global’ developments. On the seam side of such developments, however, there may be a hidden class of low-end service workers, often migrants, that find themselves in increasingly precarious situations as a result of ‘universal’ and ‘mobile’ neoliberal social security, housing and labour policies. In the near vicinity of those, it is quite likely that one will find at least a Starbucks, a McDonald’s, a Subway and a Dunkin’ Donuts, while in the adjacent gentrified areas, it is most-probably not too difficult to comfort yourself with a very familiar soy latte, that a skillful barista with fashionable glasses and a well-maintained beard serves to you alongside your favourite vegan cheesecake. Particularly the similarities between the world’s main financial centres can quite easily be recognized by their eye-catching skyscrapers designed by renowned starchitects, which often accommodate offices of the world’s leading advanced producer services companies such as Deloitte, HSBC, JP Morgan or Baker & Mackenzie. Due to continuing globalization, many cities across the globe are becoming increasingly inter-exchangeable in terms of architecture, facilities, employment and fashion.
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