Publications

Drawing together all strands of the research project, Phil Wood and Charles Landry's book The Intercultural City: Planning for Diversity Advantage will be published by Earthscan in November, 2007.

In a world of increasing mobility, how people of different cultures live together is a key issue of our age, especially for those responsible for planning and running cities. New thinking is needed on how diverse communities can co-operate in productive harmony instead of leading parallel or antagonistic lives. Policy is often dominated by mitigating the perceived negative effects of diversity and little thought is given to how a 'diversity dividend' or increased innovative capacity might be achieved.

The Intercultural City, based on numerous case studies world-wide, analyses the links between urban change and cultural diversity. It draws on original research in North America, Europe, Australasia and the UK. It critiques past and current policy and introduces new conceptual frameworks. It provides significant and practical advice for readers, with new insights and tools for practitioners such as the 'intercultural lens', 'indicators of openness', 'urban cultural literacy' and 'ten steps to an Intercultural City’.

This book is a fantastic achievement by the authors. Firstly, they give a broad but manageable overview of what has appeared in the literature with regard to interculturality, as well as what concrete policies have been pursued in various countries and cities in the world; secondly, the authors arrive at a number of practical recommendations that can be used by town councils. In short, a valuable, and highly useful study.
Alderman Orhan Kaya, Vice-Mayor of the City of Rotterdam

‘This book reminds us – with both proof and passion – that there can be no truly creative or competitive cities without first having curiosity, compassion, conviviality and co-operation.’
Richard Florida, author of The Rise of the Creative Class

‘Wood and Landry have emerged as the leading exponents in the UK of the path from multiculturalism to interculturalism, ….Their refreshingly grounded approach builds on actual examples and provides inspiring stories of the social and economic benefits of embracing diversity. They have developed ways of seeing through an intercultural lens, and have outlined indicators of openness and interculturalism, that are pathbreaking. A must read for those involved in city building, community development and place making.’
Leonie Sandercock, Professor in Urban Planning and Social Policy, University of British Columbia

ISBN: 1844074366/9781844074365 - 192 pages - £24.95

Available for order through the Comedia on line book shop or from:

   

With the backing of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Comedia has led an 18 month research programme across cities in several countries. The final report Cultural Diversity in Britain: a toolkit for cross-cultural co-operation is now available from the JRF website at:

http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/housing/1950.asp

 

Over the lifetime of the project a series of related publications is planned:

BOOK 1: THE INTERCULTURAL CITY READER edited by Phil Wood
Throughout history great cities have attracted people in all their variety, searching for a better life. This diversity in turn has provided a source new thinking, energy, inventiveness and wealth, which have driven the cities to even greater heights.

Or so the theory goes.

But if diversity really is such a boon for cities, do we really understand how it translates into economic growth and community good. How does difference and convergent thinking lead to urban innovation? What are the processes and who are the key actors and how can they be better understood and planned for? How can cities balance the innovative potential of diversity with the needs to create cohesion and common purpose? And how can we move beyond the idea of urban diversity as exotica and into a pragmatic appraisal of intercultural exchange as a resource and an asset?

Gathering together 30 texts from an eclectic selection of sources, this Reader brings an unprecendented multiplicity of perspectives on this important issue. Works by major urbanists such as Jane Jacobs, Peter Hall, Richard Florida and Leonie Sandercock sit alongside texts from the fields of economics and innovation, anthropology and cultural studies, management and communication as well as polemics from all sides of the debate on national identity, immigration and hybridity.

ISBN 1 873667 92 2 – (2004) – 327 pages – £15.00     


BOOK 2: PLANNING FOR THE INTERCULTURAL CITY by Jude Bloomfield and Franco Bianchini
The book provides a background to debates about multiculturalism and interculturalism, and their relevance to innovative and progressive urban policy-making.

It argues that city governments should promote cross-fertilisation across all cultural boundaries, between 'majority' and 'minorities', 'dominant' and 'sub' cultures, localities, classes, faiths, disciplines and genres, as the source of cultural, social, political and economic innovation.

It starts by putting forward the argument for the intercultural city, and by evaluating different approaches to dealing with cultural diversity. It then highlights problematic urban trends, including the needs to address socio-economic inequalities, the spatial segregation of ethnic minority groups and ethnic segregation in public life. It discusses the challenge of creating a cosmopolitan civic identity and culture, and offers exemplary initiatives which adopt an intercultural approach, found in a variety of European cities and across a range of policy fields, from local economic development to health, education, place marketing and festivals. The concluding section focuses on the need to rethink the practices of city authorities. The aim is to make the urban policy-making process more open to creative ideas, and better able to learn from the experiences of other cities and collaborate with the academic community and the third sector, so that the richness of talent and entrepreneurship in ethnic minority groups can be realised.

ISBN 1 873667 97 3 – (2004) – 125 pages – £10.00   

BOOK 3: MORE THAN JUST A BRIDGE: PLANNING & DESIGNING CULTURALLY by Richard Brecknock
This book argues that culture is in fact the very basic building block of a city. It argues that even infrastructure projects such as highways and bridges have a cultural impact and need to be considered in new ways. The book lays out a theoretical yet practical framework for "thinking", "planning" and "acting" culturally. At the heart of this framework is the notion of Cultural Literacy. If we accept that culture is the way of life of a people, then it is critical to be literate. There has perhaps never been a time when a need for Cultural Literacy has been greater than now, with greatly increased mobility, migration and the growth of the intercultural city.

The author explores the notion that it is vital for city managers, planners and designers to think, plan and act culturally in order to create places where we can live in a culturally rich, safe and diverse built environment - where a bridge can be more than just a bridge.

ISBN 1 837667 04 3 – (2006) – 131 pages – £10.00   

 

BOOK 4: THE ROAD TO INTERCULTURALISM: TRACKING THE ARTS IN A CHANGING WORLD by Naseem Khan

Anxieties over racial integration that surfaced strongly after 9:11 have sharpened criticism of policies that focus on multiculturalism or cultural diversity. In this paper, Naseem Khan argues that it is incorrect – indeed, is even counterproductive - to identify social policy closely with cultural policy. The two as distinct, and demand different strategies. Basing itself on the testimony of a number of artists and the evidence of past programmes and projects, she argues that the road to interculturality starts with a wise response to diversity. It can be seen to lead, not to ghettoes, but to extraordinary (and integrated) new art forms. These provide a layered cultural richness, and add value and depth to British society.

ISBN 1 873667 09 4 – (2006) – 56 pages - £6.00   

These and other Comedia publications are available from:

Comedia Publications 5 St James Terrace Suffolk Parade Cheltenham Gloucestershire GL50 2LX United Kingdom Tel +44 (0)1242 250270 To send an email click		Secure on-line ordering facilities for all publications are available through the Comedia web site - click on the logo below to order now :