1. Amsterdam Institute for Social Science Research (AISSR) – Programme Group Urban Geographies
BRIGHT FUTURE Bright Future for Black Towns: reinventing European industrial towns and challenging dominant post-industrial discourses
Marco Bontje - Programme Group Urban Geographies - University of Amsterdam

3. Main research question and aims / objectives
Main RQ: how to adopt place-specific urban strategies for industrial towns in Europe by respecting their specificities, place-based qualities on the one hand (evolutionary view) and taking into consideration their strengths, needs and expectations on the other hand.
Aims / objectives:
- To know the socio-cultural qualities of small and medium- sized industrial towns (SMITs)
- To translate their qualities into social innovations in order to adapt, to be resilient and sustainable
- To discuss a new urban policy and research agenda tailored to SMITs

4. Approaches / methods
Interdisciplinary research on hidden socio-cultural qualities within 5 case study towns in Europe: literature review, analysis of discourses / narratives (interviews, observations, policy documents, media etc.)
Participatory transdisciplinary research on social innovations in case study towns and their applicability in other transitional towns (social sustainability assessment + series of workshops)

5. Expected results and impacts
Comparative research of SMITs in different developmental contexts
Social and institutional innovations aimed at supporting positive practices in SMITs
Policy and research recommendations to urban governance and practitioners

6. What we did so far…
WP2 Systematisation and conceptualisation of the European SMIT: completed
 quantitative analysis industrial regions at European and national levels
 brief narrative of (post-)industrial past-present-future of countries and towns involved
WP3 Comparative analysis of industrial towns – transitions, specificities and narratives – completed
 Further elaboration of narratives of industrial past-present-future of case study towns
 (Post-)Industrial semiotics: how the industrial tradition influences present-day visible elements (symbols)

7. … and what still follows
Completing WP4 Identifying social and institutional innovations in SMITs
 already done: social sustainability assessment + 3 workshops on social sustainability, earlier social innovations and ideas for new social innovations
 early June: meeting in Fieni (Romania to discuss preliminary results WP4
 WP4 case study reports to be finalised end of June
 integrate case study reports in comparative report
WP5 Recommendations for alternative urban development of SMITs

8. Social Sustainability Framework
WP4 methodology:
Social Sustainability Framework
Typ hier de footer

9. Follow us on…
Project website:
ResearchGate:

10. Question for JPI Urban Europe
Can we make use of our JPI UE project site more actively? (we don’t have another project site; except ResearchGate but that is mainly aimed at academics, less to broader audience?)
For example to publish our WP reports, a blog series about our case study cities, maybe also presentations?
(unfortunately some of our earlier questions about this have not been answered so far…?)