Inclusive Place Branding: Critical Perspectives on Theory and Practice

Place branding is often a response to inter-place competition and discussed as if it operated in a vacuum, ignoring the needs of local communities. It has developed a set of methods – catchy slogans, colourful logos, ‘star-chitects’, bidding for City of Culture status etc. – that are applied as quick-fix solutions regardless of geographical and socio-political contexts.

Critical views of place branding are emerging which focus on its unexplored consequences on the physical and social fabric...