Place Making

In many ways, cities are living, breathing entities – and they’re evolving just as we are. We reached out to Jonathan Woetzel, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, to understand how the crises of the 21^st century are shaping the development of our cities.

Our understanding on place branding is rapidly evolving. Here are our top reading suggestions from the last few years for those looking to expand their own knowledge and insights…

Just as tourism teams are looking to “reset” with a more sustainable approach, place leaders and economic development teams are reconsidering approaches to placemaking. There is a need to reinvent our public spaces to rebuild the attractiveness of places – and to reconnect communities that have been living in isolation for upwards of three months.

The dizzying transformations wrought by COVID-19 lock-downs are not simply economic and social shocks. They are also profound blows to the psyche of places – their sense of identity, purpose and sustainability. It’s a crisis of confidence. And confidence is one of the most critical resources any locale needs to move forward.

Placemaking is a process that "inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces... strengthening the connection between people and the places they share." But what does placemaking need in order to be successful?

The UK media is covered in headlines proclaiming the death of the high street. But this isn't true - they're just in a process of transformation. How are destinations using innovative placemaking and policy reforms to revitalise their city centres?

More and more, people's perceptions are formed online. But how does this impact place brand strategies? Jose Torres, CEO at Bloom Consulting shared his insights with us on how nation brands are evolving to meet challenges of the 21st century.

With new challenges around funding and data, place brands are having to become more innovative in their approaches. Malcolm Allan, President at Bloom Consulting, shares some of his thoughts on the opportunities arising for place brands.

We caught up with Leah Chandler, the Chief Marketing Officer at Discover Puerto Rico, and Nate Huff, Senior Vice President of Miles Partnership, in order to discover their takes on the key challenges facing place branding in the Latin American region.

We asked Caio Esteves, CEO & Founder of Places For Us, to share his take on the key trends affecting place branding.