Building a City’s Brand: Sometimes It’s the Small Things

Creative Cities Summit 2.0 concluded this week in Detroit, Michigan, a three-day conference bringing together creative practitioners from across industries (from city planners to educators) in a discussion about the integration of innovation, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, arts & culture and business and their roles in our urban ecologies. Brand Avenue points us to one of the conference’s most enlightening panels - a talk between Who’s Your City?’s Richard Florida, COMEDIA’S Charles Landry, and The Creative Economy author John Howkins (moderated by Carol Coletta of Smart City Radio). As Brand Avenue retells, Landry brings up the important distinction between how big and small cities make a name for themselves:

Memorable was Landry’s commentary about icons and signature buildings, particularly for smaller cities that seek to raise their profiles: “rather than one icon, do 100 things well that together, become an icon.” In other words, avoid the overarching narrative, and look for ways to draw attention to the small, incremental, positive developments (architectural, economic, social, educational, etc) that together, make the image of the city greater than the sum of its parts. An interesting point vis a vis the potential fallability of a place branding approach.

An associated and similarly good point: that everything is a resource in the creation of place–every indvidual move… Or, to quote a conference organizer on Sunday, “you are a media channel:” your story is also a part; you are also an agent. Your small move is a resource, one that plays a role in the creation of place; and places are made out of, for, and by people.

Brand Avenue: Doing 100 Things Well