Urban communication in China: transmedia storytelling as methodology

The paper interrogates the use of transmedia storytelling as an effective bottom-up form of urban communication. The authors identify a gap in the scholarly literature concerning urban communication. They explore the utility of transmedia storytelling in China, where urban communication is refracted through top-down governmental 5 Year Plans. These plans, through their national, regional and municipal manifestations, may limit the scope for innovation at the city level. The paper achieves this by analyzing several transmedia projects that students at the University of Nottingham’s Ningbo China (UNNC) campus developed to enhance urban communication. These case studies are centered on one of China’s wealthiest cities, Ningbo, and ultimately the paper demonstrates how bottom-up urban communication initiatives can complement top-down policies on communication in the city. As will be argued, bottom-up initiatives, through the advancement of transmedia storytelling approaches, can facilitate the development of urban communication projects that capture the eclectic identity of cities. This includes both the various identities inhabiting them and novel historical information, which may otherwise go unnoticed in the wake of top-down governmental approaches. The article also examines transmedia pioneer Henry Jenkins visit to Ningbo and his involvement in the students’ projects, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of the approaches explored.