Abstract:PurposeInformal settlements are consistent areas in Latin America which exhibit distinctive urban and social dynamics. However, despite their size and impact, these settlements have been traditionally overlooked in terms of the contribution that they make to the city and to any place branding strategy. These areas are commonly seen as having nothing more to offer than poverty and constraint. However, literature and research shows their possibilities beyond those traditional limits, and arguably they can active… Show more
“…There are a few studies, categorized under ‘social urbanism’ theme, approaching city branding from a different angle. These studies explore the place attachment of different milieus such as gated communities (Carrasquillo, ), satellite cities (Merrilees et al ., ), informal settlements/ slums (Hernandez‐Garcia & Lopez, ; Torres, ; Hernandez‐Garcia, ) and neighborhood milieus (Semm, ). In 2012, the special issue of the Tourism Geographies Journal presented several papers under the topic ‘slum tourism’, with a reflection on the state of art on this new area of tourism research arguing that the phenomenon is not a marginal activity anymore but a global trend practiced in the five continents (Hernandez‐Garcia, , p. 43).Informal settlements and slums are poor, marginal ‘eyesores’ of cities and commonly hidden from the visitors (Hernandez‐Garcia & Lopez, ; Torres, ).…”
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the city branding literature, organize the subject matters and draw a map of the development and change in the city branding research domain. As a result, city branding literature is categorized under four thematic areas: (1) city branding concept, processes and measurement; (2) branding strategies; (3) social urbanism; and (4) branding culture and tourism. Most of the studies are research based. The qualitative methods are commonly used. There is a general tendency to describe the data but not to interpret the relations between the concepts and theories. Therefore, the knowledge is idiographic.
“…There are a few studies, categorized under ‘social urbanism’ theme, approaching city branding from a different angle. These studies explore the place attachment of different milieus such as gated communities (Carrasquillo, ), satellite cities (Merrilees et al ., ), informal settlements/ slums (Hernandez‐Garcia & Lopez, ; Torres, ; Hernandez‐Garcia, ) and neighborhood milieus (Semm, ). In 2012, the special issue of the Tourism Geographies Journal presented several papers under the topic ‘slum tourism’, with a reflection on the state of art on this new area of tourism research arguing that the phenomenon is not a marginal activity anymore but a global trend practiced in the five continents (Hernandez‐Garcia, , p. 43).Informal settlements and slums are poor, marginal ‘eyesores’ of cities and commonly hidden from the visitors (Hernandez‐Garcia & Lopez, ; Torres, ).…”
The purpose of this study is to systematically review the city branding literature, organize the subject matters and draw a map of the development and change in the city branding research domain. As a result, city branding literature is categorized under four thematic areas: (1) city branding concept, processes and measurement; (2) branding strategies; (3) social urbanism; and (4) branding culture and tourism. Most of the studies are research based. The qualitative methods are commonly used. There is a general tendency to describe the data but not to interpret the relations between the concepts and theories. Therefore, the knowledge is idiographic.
“…In an interesting twist on this finding, however, Hernandez and Lopez (2011) suggest how slums can be used to positively brand a city, in this case Bogota. The emphases of most marketing campaigns are on the city as a place of business, less on social inclusivity, more on the profitable city, and less on the fair and just city.…”
Since the 1970s city marketing has grown in size and importance. A historical contextualization considers the selling of the frontier city, the resort, the suburb, and the industrial city. The article explores the symbolic reconstruction of cities through a discussion of strategies and tactics of city marketing. Marketing strategies include the promotion of the postindustrial city, the global city, the business city, the good city, the green city, the cosmopolitan city, and the city of culture. The tactics of city marketing include namings, slogans, logos, and the construction of iconic buildings. The article discusses what city marketing reveals about social power in cities.
“…However, others have pointed out the potential benefits of these types of intervention, especially comparing them with the current reality of abandonment of most informal neighborhoods. For Hernández and López (: 106), ‘A city‐branding strategy that considers seriously the informal settlements can contribute positively to the well‐being of the people in those areas’. They suggest that, contrary to what many think, informal settlements are brandable.…”
The installation of cable cars as part of slum beautification projects has begun to circulate among politicians, planners and residents as a magical solution that offers social and economic integration to historically marginalized urban areas. This paper analyzes the way in which a cable car project became a fetish for the inhabitants, politicians and planners of Cazucá, a very deprived, abandoned and stigmatized area on the outskirts of Bogotá, Colombia. The highly positive value given to the cable car project must be understood within the specific local context without judging its ‘false promises’ a priori. The promise of the cable car in Cazucá reveals at least two crucial political reasons for the current potency of such projects: a complex history of political failures and the political value cable cars have acquired nationally and internationally. We analyze how, for both residents and politicians, the mere possibility of a cable car awakened long neglected desires for visibility and created new ones, such as those related to tourism. They see the cable car as an ‘engine for social change’, a way to ensure the commitment of national and international funds, and a venue to brand the city on a global scale.
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