Abstract
Places are facing major challenges at the environmental, financial and economic levels. These crucial issues demand structural changes and emphasise the need for robust strategic thinking and active instruments that shape and frame what a place is and what it aims to become. As traditional planning instruments become markedly less effective, spatial planners are required to develop new instruments that cope more effectively with the challenges they face in an unbalanced, dynamic and complex environment, while at the same time addressing the social, spatial and economic needs of a place. Place branding has been used to foster economic restructuring, social inclusion and cohesion, political engagement and participation, place identification, and the general well-being of citizens. This article aims to contribute to the academic debate by discussing why and how place branding can be used as an instrument in strategic spatial planning to support a structural change in places. This conceptual article emphasises that place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument can contribute to improvement of economic and social structure of places and reshape responses to contemporary challenges faced by places.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Albrechts, L. (2004) Strategic (spatial) planning re-examined. Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 31 (5): 743–758.
Albrechts, L. (2006) Bridge the gap: From spatial planning to strategic projects. European Planning Studies 14 (10): 1487–1500.
Albrechts, L. (2010) More of the same is not enough! How could strategic spatial planning be instrumental in dealing with the challenges ahead? Environment and Planning B: Planning and Design 37 (6): 1115–1127.
Albrechts, L. (2013) Reframing strategic spatial planning by using a coproduction perspective. Planning Theory 12 (1): 46–63.
Allan, M. (2012) Experience masterplanning – The driver of destination branding and marketing. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Destination Branding & Marketing, Cardiff, Wales: Cardiff Metropolitan University.
Allmendinger, P. (2009) Planning Theory. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Allmendinger, P. and Haughton, G. (2010) Spatial planning, devolution, and new planning spaces. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy 28 (5): 803–818.
Andranovich, G. (2001) Olympic cities: Lessons learned from mega – Event politics. Journal of Urban Affairs 23 (2): 113–131.
Anholt, S. (2002) ‘Foreword’ to the special issue on place branding. Journal of Brand Management 9 (4/5): 229–239.
Anholt, S. (2007) Competitive Identity: The New Brand Management for Nations, Cities and Regions. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Anholt, S. (2010) Places: Identity, Image and Reputation. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Ashworth, G. (2005) Can a Dutch city become Italian? A strategic change of heart in Groningen, Netherlands. In: F. Martinelli (ed.) La Plianificazione strategic in Italia e in Europa. Milan, Italy: Francoangeli, pp. 181–202.
Ashworth, G. (2011) Should we brand places? Journal of Town and City Management 1 (3): 248–252.
Ashworth, G. (2012) International place branding yearbook 2010: Place branding in the new age of innovation. Tourism Management 33 (2): 484–485.
Ashworth, G. and Kavaratzis, M. (eds.) (2010) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing.
Ashworth, G. and Voogd, H. (1990) Selling the City: Marketing Approaches in Public Sector Urban Planning. London: Belhaven Press.
Ashworth, G. and Voogd, H. (1994) Marketing and place promotion. In: J. Gold and S. Ward (eds.) Place Promotion, the Use of Publicity and Marketing to Sell Towns and Regions. Chichester, UK: John Wiley.
Balducci, A. and Fedeli, V. (2011) New planning approaches/challenges for urban and territorial planning in contemporary cities. In: A. Balducci, V. Fedeli and G. Pasqui (eds.) Strategic Planning for Contemporary Urban Regions: City of Cities: A Project for Milan. Surrey, UK: Ashgate, pp. 55–65.
Balducci, A., Fedeli, V. and Pasqui, G. (2011) Strategic Planning for Contemporary Urban Regions: City of Cities: A Project for Milan. Surrey, UK: Ashgate.
Barke, M. (1999) City marketing as a planning tool. In: M. Pacione (ed.) Applied Geography: Principles and Practice. London: Routledge, pp. 486–496.
Berg, L. van den and Braun, E. (1999) Urban competitiveness, marketing and the need for organizing capacity. Urban Studies 36 (5–6): 987–999.
Braun, E. (2008) City marketing: Towards an integrated approach. PhD Thesis, Erasmus Research Institute of Management, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/13694/, accessed 5 August 2013.
Bryson, J. and Roering, W. (1988) Initiation of strategic planning by governments. Public Administration Review 48 (6): 995–1004.
Dawson, E. and Higgins, M. (2009) How planning authorities can improve quality through the design review process: Lessons from Edinburgh. Journal of Urban Design 14 (1): 101–114.
Deffner, A. and Liouris, C. (2005) The impact of multiplexes in urban development: The case of Ster (Ex-Europlex) Cinema in Larissa. Proceedings of the 19th International AESOP conference. The Dream of a Greater Europe, Vienna: AESOP-Association of European Schools of Planning, pp. 1–7.
Deffner, A. and Metaxas, T. (2006) Is city marketing opposed to urban planning? The elaboration of a pilot city marketing plan for the case of Nea Ionia, Magnesia, Greece. Proceedings of the 46th ERSA Conference Enlargement; Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, Thessaly, Greece: University of Thessaly, pp. 1–31.
Deffner, A. and Metaxas, T. (2010) Place marketing, local identity and branding cultural images in Southern Europe: Nea Ionia, Greece and Pafos, Cyprus. In: G. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis (eds.) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 49–68.
Eshuis, J. and Edward, A. (2013) Branding the city: The democratic legitimacy of a new mode of governance. Urban Studies 50 (5): 1066–1082.
Faludi, A. and Van der Valk, A. (1994) Rule and Order: Dutch Planning Doctrine in the Twentieth Century. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Florida, R. (2002) The Rise of the Creative Class and How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life. New York: Basic Books.
Friedmann, J. (1987) Planning in the Public Domain. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Friedmann, J. (2004) Strategic spatial planning and the longer range. Planning Theory and Practice 5 (1): 49–62.
Govers, R. (2013) Editorial: Why place branding is not about logos and slogans. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 9 (2): 71–75.
Govers, R. and Go, F. (2009) Place Branding: Virtual and Physical Identities, Glocal, Imagined and Experienced. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Granados-Cabezas, V. (1995) Another mythology for local development? Selling places with packaging techniques: A view from the Spanish experience of city strategic planning. European Planning Studies 3 (2): 173–187.
Greenberg, M. (2008) Branding New York. How a City in Crisis was Sold to the World. London: Routledge.
Hankinson, G. (2007) The management of destination brands: Five guiding principles based on recent developments in corporate branding theory. Journal of Brand Management 14 (3): 240–54.
Hankinson, G. (2010) Place branding theory: A cross-domain literature review from a marketing perspective. In: G. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis (eds.) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 15–35.
Hanna, S. and Rowley, J. (2011) Towards a strategic place brand-management model. Journal of Marketing Management 27 (5/6): 458–476.
Harvey, D. (1989) From managerialism to entrepreneurialism: The transformation in urban governance in late capitalism. Geografiska Annaler 71 (1): 3–17.
Healey, P. (1997a) Collaborative Planning: Shaping Places in Fragmented Societies. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Healey, P. (1997b) An institutionalist approach to spatial planning. In: P. Healey, A. Khakee, A. Motte and B. Needham (eds.) Making Strategic Spatial Plans: Innovation in Europe. London: UCL Press, pp. 21–36.
Healey, P. (2003) Collaborative planning in perspective. Planning Theory 2 (2): 101–123.
Healey, P. (2004) The treatment of space and place in the new strategic spatial planning in Europe. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 28 (1): 45–67.
Healey, P. (2007) Urban Complexity and Spatial Strategies. Towards a Relational Planning for Our Times. London; New York: Routledge.
Healey, P. (2009) The pragmatic tradition in planning thought. Journal of Planning Education and Research 28 (3): 277–292.
Healey, P., Khakee, A., Motte, A. and Needham, B. (1999) European developments in strategic spatial planning. European Planning Studies 7 (3): 339–355.
Hildreth, J. (2010) Place branding: A view at arm’s length. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 6 (1): 27–35.
Hillier, J. (2002) Shadows of Power. An Allegory of Planning in Land-use Planning. London: Routledge.
Innes, J. and Booher, D. (1999) Consensus building as role playing and bricolage. Toward a theory of collaborative planning. Journal of the American Planning Association 65 (2): 9–26.
Jessop, B. (1997) The entrepreneurial city: Re-imaging localities, redesigning economic governance or restructuring capital. In: N. Jewson and S.E. McGregor (eds.) Transforming Cities: Contested Governance and New Spatial Divisions. London: Routledge, pp. 28–42.
Kaufman, J. and Jacobs, H. (1987) A public planning perspective on strategic spatial planning. Journal of the American Planning Association 53 (1): 21–31.
Kavaratzis, M. (2004) From city marketing to city branding: Towards a theoretical framework for developing city brands. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 1 (1): 58–73.
Kavaratzis, M. (2005) Place branding: A review of trends and conceptual models. The Marketing Review 5 (4): 329–342.
Kavaratzis, M. (2010) Is corporate branding relevant to places? In: G. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis (eds.) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 36–48.
Kavaratzis, M. (2012) From ‘necessary evil’ to necessity: Stakeholders’ involvement in place branding. Journal of Place Management and Development 5 (1): 7–19.
Kavaratzis, M. and Ashworth, G. (2005) City branding: An effective assertion of identity or a transitory marketing trick? Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie 96 (5): 506–514.
Kavaratzis, M. and Ashworth, G. (2008) Place marketing: How did we get here and where are we going? Journal of Place Management and Development 1 (2): 150–165.
Kavaratzis, M. and Ashworth, G. (eds.) (2010) Place branding: Where do we stand? In: Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 1–14.
Kavaratzis, M. and Hatch, M. (2013) The dynamics of place brands: An identity-based approach to place branding theory. Marketing Theory 13 (1): 69–86.
Kolb, B. (2006) Tourism Marketing for Cities and Towns: Using Branding and Events to Attract Tourists. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Elsevier.
Konečnik, M. and Go, F. (2008) Tourism destination brand identity: The case of Slovenia. Journal of Brand Management 15 (3): 177–189.
Kotler, P., Asplund, C., Rein, I. and Haider, D. (1999) Marketing Places Europe: Attracting Investments, Industries and Visitors to European Cities, Communities, Regions and Nations. London: Pearson Education.
Kotler, P., Haider, D. and Rein, I. (1993) Marketing Places: Attracting Investment, Industry, and Tourism to Cities, States and Nations. New York: The Free Press.
Kunzmann, K. (2000) Strategic spatial development through information and communication. In: W. Salet and A. Faludi (eds.) The Revival of Strategic Spatial Planning. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, pp. 259–265.
Lamour, C. (2014) Territorial reputation beyond state borders? Metropolitan images in European borderlands. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 10 (1): 19–31.
Lucarelli, A. and Berg, P. (2011) City branding: A state-of-the-art review of the research domain. Journal of Place Management and Development 4 (1): 9–27.
Mastop, H. (1998) National planning: New institutions for integration. Paper for the XII AESOP Congress, Aveiro; copy available from the author, Nijmegen School of Management, University of Nijmegen.
Mateo, C.M. and Seisdedos, G. (2010) Branding Madrid: From ‘Madrid global’ to ‘global Madrid’. In: G. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis (eds.) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 69–88.
Metaxas, T. (2009) Place marketing, strategic planning and competitiveness: The case of Malta. European Planning Studies 17 (9): 1357–1378.
Metaxas, T. ([2010]2012) Planning, managing and implementing place/city marketing effectively: Review and discussion of the last 25 years. Paper No. 41024 (posted 4) Munich, Germany: Munich Personal RePEc Archive.
Mintzberg, H. (1994) The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning. New York: The Free Press.
Mintzberg, H., Ahlstrand, B. and Lampel, J. (1998) Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through the Wilds of Strategic Management. New York: The Free Press.
Moilanen, T. and Rainisto, S. (2009) How to Brand Nations, Cities and Destinations: A Planning Book for Place Branding. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan.
Nykiel, R. and Jascolt, E. ([1998]2008) Marketing Your City, U.S.A: A Guide to Developing a Strategic Tourism Marketing Plan. Binghamton, UK: Haworth Press.
Ogilvy, J. (2002) Creating Better Futures. New York: Oxford University Press.
Pareja-Eastway, M., Chapain, C. and Mugnano, S. (2013) Success and failures in city branding policies. In: S. Musterd and Z. Kovács (eds.) Place-making and Policies for Competitive Cities. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, pp. 150–171.
Pasqui, G. (2011) The changing urban agenda. In: A. Balducci, V. Fedeli and G. Pasqui (eds.) Strategic Planning for Contemporary Urban Regions: City of Cities: A Project for Milan. Surrey, UK: Ashgate, pp. 55–65.
Pasquinelli, C. (2010) The limits of place branding for local development: The case of Tuscany and the Arno valley brand. Local Economy 25 (7): 558–572.
Pike, A. (2009) Geographies of brands and branding. Progress in Human Geography 33 (5): 619–645.
Poister, T. and Streib, G. (1999) Strategic management in the public sector: Concepts, models and processes. Public Productivity & Management Review 22 (3): 308–325.
Quinn, J. (1980) Strategies for Change: Logical Incrementalism. Illinois: Dow Jones-Irwin.
Rainisto, S. (2003) Success factors of place marketing: A study of place marketing practices in Northern Europe and the United States. PhD thesis, Helsinki University of Technology, Institute of Strategy and International Business, Helsinki, https://aaltodoc.aalto.fi/bitstream/handle/123456789/2106/isbn9512266849.pdf?sequence=1, accessed 5 August 2013.
Rantisi, N. and Leslie, D. (2006) Branding the design metropole: The case of Montreal, Canada. Area 38 (4): 364–376.
Therkelsen, A., Halkier, H. and Jensen, B. (2010) Branding Aalborg: Building community or selling place? In: G. Ashworth and M. Kavaratzis (eds.) Towards Effective Place Brand Management-Branding European Cities and Regions. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 136–155.
Throgmorton, J. (1996) Planning as Persuasive Storytelling: The Rhetorical Construction of Chicago’s Electric Future. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Van Assche, K. and Djanibekov, N. (2012) Spatial planning as policy integration: The need for an evolutionary perspective lessons from Uzbekistan. Land Use Policy 29 (1): 179–186.
Van Assche, K. and Lo, M. (2011) Planning, preservation and place branding: A tale of sharing assets and narratives. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy 7 (2): 116–126.
Van Assche, K., Beunen, R., Duineveld, M. and De Jong, H. (2012) Co-evolutions of planning and design: Risks and benefits of design perspectives in planning systems. Planning Theory 12 (2): 177–198.
Vicari Haddock, S. (ed.) (2010) Branding the creative city. In: Brand-Building: The Creative City. Florence: Firenze University Press, pp. 17–37.
Warnaby, G., Bennison, D. and Davies, J.B. (2005) Marketing town centers: Retailing and town centre management. Local Economy 20 (2): 183–204.
Wiechmann, T. (2007) Planning and adaptation – Strategising in complex contexts as dealing with social paradoxes. Written Paper, International Conference New Concepts and Approaches for Urban and Regional Policy and Planning, Belgian: University of Leuven.
Woltjer, J. (2004) Consensus planning in infrastructure and environmental development. In: G. Linden and H. Voogd (eds.) Environmental and Infrastructure Planning. Groningen, the Netherlands: GeoPress, pp. 37–58.
Zenker, S. and Braun, E. (2010) The Place Brand Culture – A Conceptual Approach for the Brand Culture. London; New York: Routledge.
Zenker, S. and Rütter, N. (2014) Is satisfaction the key? The role of citizen satisfaction, place attachment and place brand attitude on positive citizenship behavior. Cities 38 (June): 11–17.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Oliveira, E. Place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument. Place Brand Public Dipl 11, 18–33 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2014.12
Received:
Revised:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/pb.2014.12