Finding the right narrative for innovation-driven urban regeneration projects: a challenge we have in MIND

The research project will be developed as a critical discourse analysis of institutional and popular discourses concerning urban regeneration. The analysis of urban regeneration as a linguistic, social, and communicative phenomenon will have to take into account the plurality of stakeholders that are involved, the variety of issues embedded in urban development (e.g., sustainability, mobility, accessibility) , and the local specificity of such projects. Therefore, this research will draw comparisons between discourses concerning urban regeneration projects in Milan and those of other European cities in order to find similarities and differences that will allow to identify best practices in the field on an institutional level. At the same time, a focus on popular discourse will seek to evaluate how this institutional communication is received by those people who are more or less directly affected by such projects. Studying the different stances that institutions and the public assume in regard to urban regeneration projects through critical discourse analysis will conceivably shed light on the multiple meanings of the term urban regeneration and its many synonyms – most notably, in which cases urban regeneration is perceived as gentrification in discourse. In particular, this research will investigate as a case study the Milan Innovation District (MIND), a multi-purpose area on the outskirts of Milan formerly built to host the 2015 World Exposition which is now being renovated to accommodate healthcare centers, co-working spaces, private companies, start-ups, scientific labs, and several departments of the University of Milan, as well as shops, services and residential buildings for its future users.