What happened to the multicultural city? Effects of nativism and austerity (Sept 2018 – Aug 2022)

Lead academic: Dr Licia Cianetti  

This project – supported by a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship - investigates how four European cities that have nominally embraced the 'multicultural' label govern their multiculturalism in practice, under the double pressure of nativism and austerity. It looks at the working and evolution of equality and inclusion departments in city councils in Birmingham, Lisbon, Riga and Turin to better understand how inclusive institutions are made and unmade over time.  

The project uses an innovative multimethod approach that combines process-tracing, policy analysis, discourse analysis, and ethnography-inspired collaborations with local artists. The academic-artist collaboration has resulted in a collaborative multimedia output.

Output: Cianetti, L. 2020. Governing the Multicultural City: Europe’s ‘Great Urban Expectations’ Facing Austerity and Resurgent Nativism. Urban Studies