The ‘distinctiveness of cities’ and distinctions in cities: boundaries of belonging in comparative perspective
- 30 April 2015
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis Ltd in Urban Research & Practice
- Vol. 9 (1), 37-55
- https://doi.org/10.1080/17535069.2015.1037342
Abstract
It is in cities where people are most strongly confronted with diversity in an ‘age of migration’. However, comparisons of local integration contexts usually take ethnic boundaries as given or assume that they are constituted by the nation state. Our analysis of local discourses challenges this methodological nationalism. Departing from the ‘distinctiveness of cities’ approach, we scrutinise how Frankfurt, Dortmund, Birmingham and Glasgow differ in how diversity is discursively constructed. We maintain that the discourses not only reflect different frames in dealing with diversity but also serve as a proxy for debating the self-image of the city.Keywords
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