Comparing the social structure in Beijing and London: Towards a more equal, cosmopolitan landscape of urban theories

Thesis

The purpose of this thesis is to help reconfigure the landscape of urban theories to become more equal, cosmopolitan, and closer to that of the real urban world. Conceptually, this thesis criticises the Western-centred production of urban knowledge, suggests a new step to decentre this production, and highlights the comparative gesture that can be used to support this step. Empirically, this thesis puts this new step into practice. It compared Beijing and London, via the quantitative analy...

Expand abstract

Authors: Shi, Q

• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Global city; Comparative urban studies; Beijing; Social structure; London
• Subjects: Sociology, Urban--Case studies; Geography