Methodological approaches in urban media and communication research

Over the last two decades, the study of urban media and communication has witnessed an upsurge of empirical research, characterized by a plurality of methodological perspectives. In this chapter, we aim to help readers find their way through the field’s main methodological heuristics, as a way to both foster internal dialogue and offer guiding principles for urban media and communication scholars to develop their empirical research. Drawing from our previous work, we distinguish three main strands of research within urban media and communication studies: approaches that consider the city as content of communication, as a context of media engagement, and as a medium of communication.