Comparing Small Gatherings in Their Urban Contexts

This article introduces small gatherings as a socio-spatial arena that enables a comparative perspective on the basis of detailed empirical research. Small gatherings allow for an analysis of sociality in the city which can be combined with the analysis of its concrete spatiality and intersecting socio-historical processes. The challenge of doing research on small gatherings lies in the fact that they are fuzzy and may, or may not, traverse established urban scales. This will be exemplified by the characterization of two types of small gatherings, represented by cases in Amman and in East Jerusalem – small gatherings of friends and small gatherings of neighbors. They share superficial similarities, but the analysis reveals their varying relations to the neighborhood and the city.