The Political Economy of City Branding discusses this phenomenon from the perspective of numerous post-industrial cities in North America, Europe, East Asia and Australasia. Special attention is given to local economic development policy and industrial profiling, and global city rankings are used to provide empirical evidence for cities’ characteristics and positions in the global urban hierarchy. On top of this, social and urban challenges such as creative class struggle are also discussed.
The core message of the book is that cities should apply the tools of city branding in their industrial promotion and specialization, but at the same time take into account the special nature of their urban communities and be open and inclusive in their brand policies in order to ensure optimal results.
This book will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working in the areas of local economic development, urban planning, public management, and branding.
Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko is Adjunct Professor in the School of Management at the University of Tampere, Finland. His research areas include local governance, global intercity competition, e-government, public sector innovations, and high-tech centre research.