Place-particularity and deep analogies: A comparative essay on Miami's rise as a world city

Comparative approaches in urban studies are rarely explicated in theoretical or methodological terms. The premise of this paper is that comparison over time and/or across space is essential to our understanding of social phenomena. The ascendance of globalization debates has added to the importance of a comparative approach to regional and urban studies. This paper illustrates one comparative approach by way of a set of comparative historical essays on the logic of Miami's emergence as a world city. Multiple individualizing comparisons with Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Dublin serve to highlight Miami's idiosyncrasies but at the same time reveal some deep analogies. Such comparisons go beyond idiographic description and suggest theoretical arguments, yet they provide an important check on generalization. The insights derived from this essay suggest that Miami's case was decisively influenced by the nature of state-city relations, regional exceptionalism in terms of political economy, the prevalence of illicit economic and financial conduits, and hybrid cultural identities. The comparisons with the other cities underscore the potential importance of these factors for world city formation in general.