Word Lab
Enabling the production of emerging urban knowledge to diverse audiences.
About
The IIHS Word Lab anchors publications, editorial functions and multilingual language facilitation at IIHS.
Impact
Areas of Work
The Lab strengthens IIHS’ knowledge production ecosystem by supporting the creation, refinement, and dissemination of written and published outputs across academic, practitioner, and public audiences.
Publication Support
The Lab supports writing across IIHS’ Schools, Centres, Programmes and Labs, including papers, books, reports, and public writing, ensuring high standards of quality, ethics, and inclusivity. It works closely with project teams to plan, shape, and refine outputs at all stages of the publication process.
The Lab edits and manages IIHS reports, policy papers, briefs, case studies, and conference proceedings, making them openly accessible through the IIHS Publications repository. The Lab also provides researchers with end-to-end editorial support for academic publishing, from structuring and drafting to journal submission and refinement.
Journals
Urbanisation Journal
The Lab runs the editorial office for the Urbanisation journal, working closely with the journal’s Editorial Collective. Urbanisation is a peer-reviewed biannual journal anchored at IIHS and published by Sage Publications India, and publishes comparative as well as collaborative interdisciplinary scholarship that illuminates the global urban condition, beginning with a firm footprint in the Global South.
The journal is guided by a distinguished team of editors and advisory board members who are among the world’s foremost urban academics and practitioners. It is indexed in databases such as EBSCO, reflecting both a growing influence and broad accessibility.
- 190+ Articles
- 380,000+ Article views
- 900+ Citations
Ecology, Economy and Society–The INSEE Journal
Ecology, Economy and Society–The INSEE Journal is an open-access, biannual, peer-reviewed journal published by the Indian Society for Ecological Economics (INSEE), with the editorial office managed by the Lab. The journal is led by prominent scholars in environmental sciences and economics from India and is indexed in multiple databases, including SCOPUS.
- 260+ Articles
- 250,000+ Article views
- 500+ Citations
Campus Book Series
The Lab leads the production of a book series on the upcoming IIHS, Kengeri Campus, Bengaluru, documenting its evolving approaches in sustainable design and innovation, and biodiversity conservation. The series covers practices across campus design and construction, water and soil management, waste systems, agro-forestry, biodiversity and urban farming. It captures both processes and outcomes in depth, while also serving as a practical reference for urban practitioners and others seeking to adapt similar practices at scale.
Envisioned as a set of living documents that will evolve along with the materiality and ecology of the Campus, the books also serve as teaching–learning material.
Developing Writing Resources
The Lab develops writing resources and guidebooks for internal and external audiences, such as the IIHS Handbook of Style and Usage, an extensive style guide for all writing at IIHS; and the IIHS Rough Writing Guides, a set of guides on different forms of writing, including reports, op-eds, data stories, policy briefs and journals.
The Lab also developed the massive open online course (MOOC), Writing and Disseminating Grey Literature in partnership with the IIHS Digital Blended Learning programme, and hosted on Coursera.
Events
City Scripts
The Lab curates IIHS City Scripts, an annual urban writings festival. This one-of-a-kind festival is dedicated to examining how cities are represented in art and literature, and stands out for its persistent inquiry of urban narratives and experiences. Since its inception in 2016, the festival has reimagined the idea of the city as a ‘text’—building on and bringing together the works of people who reimagine the city.
IIHS City Scripts Monthly
City Scripts sessions are held monthly to extend engagement with IIHS’ audiences. These conversations, attended by many, allow us to deepen our interactions with the people of Bengaluru and focus on broader urban questions and concerns.
To learn about our upcoming events, visit the City Scripts website.