Abstract: Urban issues are complex and dynamic, changing in emphasis and connection. Themes conflate and resonate, connect and separate, dominate and diminish. Any research has to recognize and relate to these conditions. In particular where is the researcher coming from? In what direction is he or she heading? What points of attachment does the outcome of the research have where it can be placed in its context or fill out or amend previous conclusions? Can it effectively relate to the broader canvas of the city by interacting with its context to their mutual enrichment? What is the point of entry into the urban system and the assumptions behind that? This paper takes an adventurous – perhaps idiosyncratic - look at how research might better drive insights into the complexity of the city and shape and illuminate policy options to address problems and issues. The discussion uses headings representing the main issues that need to be considered in undertaking research. Some of these headings overlap and reinforce each other.