Most postindustrial cities draw on scripts which emphasize aspirations or claims to inclusion as well as to the diversity of their inhabitants. Such scripts for inclusion may either be formulated as prescriptive visions for future development or project romanticized descriptions of a larger city population. However, these scripts often reflect the perspectives of urban planners or a specific demographic and thus may be challenged by other groups within the city.

The City Scripts researchers who pursue such scripts for inclusivity develop projects interested in gardening and diversity, counterhegemonic scripts developed by artists and activists, the educational “collective impact” model, as well as the positioning of harbors as communal public spaces.

Among the internship partners are the educational initiative RuhrFutur, Quilomboarte Collective, New York City, the California State University, Northridge, and the Collaborative for Inclusive Urbanism in Portland, Oregon.

Projects

Social Change for Engaging Cities: Translating Urban 'Collective Impact' Initiatives between the Rust Belt and the Ruhr

Raising Ethnic Voices: Counter-Discourses in the Contemporary Cultural Scenes of New York City and Los Angeles

Diversity Gardening: Validating the 'Script of Green Strategies for Inclusive Urbanism'

Waterfront Reconquista: Conflicting Scripts for Waterfront and Port Developments in Inland Harbor Cities

Trivial Pursuits: The Practices and Politics of Prioritization in Postindustrial Urban Spaces