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RESEARCH PRODUCT

A Tale of Two Re-branded Cities: Riga, Latvia and Aarhus, Denmark

Gunta LočmeleBirthe Mousten

subject

Historytranslation studiesmedia_common.quotation_subject05 social sciencesre-semiotizationGender studiesCivil engineeringlocalizationCity branding0506 political scienceGolden Rule (fiscal policy)Identity (philosophy)0502 economics and business050602 political science & public administrationTranslation studies050211 marketingGeneral Materials Scienceimagemunicipal brandingurban branding.media_common

description

Abstract This study shows how Riga and Arhus identified, formulated and communicated city re-branding. Our analysis concentrates on resident responses to city re-branding and how such responses could force the municipalities to withdraw their re-branding. A city loses its identity if it is globalized. In the Riga and Aarhus cases, the municipalities tried to find a global voice, which contradicted local traditions; and in both cases, the redefinition of city image took place top-down and not bottom-up. The two cases may not prove to be a golden rule, but should be a warning against rash city re-branding decisions made by municipalities.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.09.093