DIVERCITIES
Funded by the European Union, Divercities was a major research project interested in how to create social cohesion, social mobility, and economic performance in today’s hyper-diversified cities. My role was to manage communications.
Project overview
In-depth research was undertaken in 14 countries by 17 partners with Utrecht University the lead partner. Research centred on deprived neighbourhoods in 14 cities and looked at how immigration, socio-economic inequalities, spatial segregation and a diversity of identities and lifestyles create challenges for urban policymakers and institutions. DIVERCITIES aimed to help them find solutions to these numerous and complex issues to help meet the needs of Europe’s increasingly diverse population.
HANDBOOK
I designed the magazine-style handbook that was produced at the very end of the research project. It summarised key findings and outlined ways to improve opportunities in deprived neighbourhoods in a visually appealing way drawing on initiatives in each of the research cities.
TESTIMONIAL
“David did a magnificent job in designing our Handbook for Governing Hyper-diverse Cities.”
— Gideon Bolt, Project Coordinator DIVERCITIES, Utrecht University
OTHER PUBLICATIONS
Each city produced a book at the end of the project summarising their findings. I coordinated the copy-editing, design and printing of the books. Throughout the project I edited policy briefs, the newsletter, reports and managed the project’s social accounts.
CONSORTIUM MEETINGS & FIELDWORK
International Consortium Meetings were held every six or eight months in various research cities. I attended these to document them and to photograph the neighbourhoods to use in publications and on the website.
Governing Urban Diversity Conference
Staged at the end of research project, the conference brought together an international audience to highlight the findings. The event was staged over three days and included keynote addresses, workshops, field trips and a mini Diversity Festival showcasing talent from Rotterdam’s diverse south.
Website
A major part of my work was to redevelop the project’s website. I designed, built and maintained the site, which included in-depth case studies for each city, a blog to communicate findings and research, a subsite for the conference, researcher profiles, and a comprehensive section for publications. The site was built using WordPress.