Deep reflection and daily life in urban research

Abstract

This issue of Dialogues in Urban Research is a meditation on what "urban research" and "urban researchers" are. These two things-who we are and what we do-are both identifiable and contested. It is not controversial to say urban research comes in various forms, or that many different types of scholars consider themselves urbanists. Rather, contention occurs when we ask questions about who defines what counts as urban research, or who gets counted as this or that type of urban researcher. Our two forum papers, and their excellent accompanying commentaries, help us understand why these remain contentious questions and provide ample assistance on how to navigate them.Loretta Lees' forum paper, an extended version of her inaugural 2023 plenary talk for Dialogues in Urban Research, reflects on what dialogue means in urban research. The essay's tone is simultaneously personal and global. Loretta's selfdeclared "insider-outsider" status frames much of the discussion and reveals the enduring classed dimensions of being a (urban) scholar. One can be, as Loretta is, a globally renowned urbanist and, at the same time, seen (by some) to be lacking in academia's cultural credentials:My own positionality I now realise has been significant in more ways than one, and I continue to be an 'outside-insider' in urban research in the academy. This position in which I feel and operate outside but have gained enough academic recognition to have been given some insider status is a complex one. (Lees, 2024: 1)