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The article analyses the anniversary of a regional capital as a tool of identity politics. From the point of view of an identity approach, an event of this kind can act as a catalyst for reflection, have a positive impact on the involvement of residents in solving city problems, and integrate the community. The anniversary is considered as a symbolic practice of purposefully constructing the identity discourse that ensures integration of the urban/regional community and solves the problems of positioning the territory. The key content aspects of the jubilee discourse have been identified: image, infrastructure, and identity. If the first two aspects are aimed at the utilitarian economic effect, reinforcing the popularity of the territory and the real changes in the urban landscape, the identity perspective captures the meanings associated with understanding oneself as a community. Using the example of the 300th anniversary of Perm, the rhetoric of key actors in identity politics has been analysed from the perspective of these aspects. The author concludes that in the case of Perm, the anniversary was considered mainly as a tool for solving image problems. The agenda of constructing identity occupied a subordinate place in relation to the promotion issue. The anniversary was linked to the possibility of understanding urban and regional identity. However, that trend did not translate into a broad public discussion among intellectuals.

Many cities are striving to establish distinct identities that have a strong impact both within their local communities and on the international stage. City branding derived from the nearby vernacular settlements has become a strategic method for urban areas to differentiate themselves by emphasizing their distinctive cultural, historical, and social resources. However, often, how to develop city branding, attract tourists through creative tourism, and preserve cultural heritage have been examined independently and not in conjunction with one another. Furthermore, the issues about how to develop creative tourism to support city identity, city branding, and city image are limited. This review article investigates constructing city branding by engaging cultural identity of associated vernacular settlements through creative tourism. The research employs a systematic literature review as a method. It comprised 104 articles from databases that included Scopus and Google Scholar. The papers were subjected to a thorough examination by the VOSviewer program employing content analysis to classify them into four clusters: 1) vernacular settlements, 2) creative tourism, 3) city branding, 4) city identity and city image. It concludes that vernacular settlements have a significant relationship with the identity and image of a city, which may be used to attract and engage different audiences through creative tourism and powerful city branding. A variety of strategies, including architectural preservation, cultural promotion, creative tourism, city identity, traditional crafts, marketing, and community involvement, are used when integrating vernacular settlements into city branding. Cities could construct a unique and genuine brand that draws tourists, encourages community pride, and promotes sustainable growth by utilizing these components. This review article provides insights and possibilities into the creative strategies that cities can adopt to foster a sense of place and identity, enhance their appeal on both national and global stages, and increase the city economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Religación: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades is the property of Religacion: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The objective of the article is to develop a methodology of city ranking based on the criterion of a city's brand image among its inhabitants. Research Design & Methods: The article discusses the utilization of the multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) to create a ranking of European capitals. It explores the significance of the decision-making approach in establishing a linear order among 28 capital cities within the European Union. The study employs the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for evaluation purposes. By leveraging publicly accessible indicators that gauge the perception of various aspects of a city's brand by its residents, this method facilitates the generation of a comprehensive ranking. Findings: The top five positions in the ranking are occupied by the following cities: Brussels, Sofia, Berlin, London and Stockholm. Ljubljana, Prague and Helsinki were ranked lowest. Implications & Recommendations: The ranking built for the purpose of this article, has managerial implications. It can serve as a valuable re-source for territorial managers, communication experts, urban planners, and decision-makers involved in the cities' enhancement and promotion. By utilizing this ranking, they can gain insights into the level of attractive-ness and competitiveness of different cities. Furthermore, it enables them to establish measurable strategic objectives for the development of their respective cities. This information empowers these stakeholders to make informed decisions, implement improvements, and enhance the overall value of their cities. Contribution & Value Added: The article employed ideal solution-based multi-criteria decision-making techniques to evaluate the brand image of cities as perceived by their inhabitants. We selected seven criteria to build the ranking showing the diversity in terms of residents' satisfaction with living in the city in the following areas: environment and recreation, refinement and diversity, municipal facilities, public services, employment opportunities, cost-effectiveness, and security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Studies in Politics & Society / Polityka & Społeczeństwo is the property of University of Rzeszow and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objective: The objective of the article is to develop a methodology of city ranking based on the criterion of a city’s brand image among its inhabitants. Research Design & Methods: The article discusses the utilization of the multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) to create a ranking of European capitals. It explores the significance of the decision-making approach in establishing a linear order among 28 capital cities within the European Union. The study employs the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) for evaluation purposes. By leveraging publicly accessible indicators that gauge the perception of various aspects of a city’s brand by its residents, this method facilitates the generation of a comprehensive ranking. Findings: The top five positions in the ranking are occupied by the following cities: Brussels, Sofia, Berlin, London and Stockholm. Ljubljana, Prague and Helsinki were ranked lowest. Implications & Recommendations: The ranking built for the purpose of this article, has managerial implications. It can serve as a valuable re-source for territorial managers, communication experts, urban planners, and decision-makers involved in the cities’ enhancement and promotion. By utilizing this ranking, they can gain insights into the level of attractive-ness and competitiveness of different cities. Furthermore, it enables them to establish measurable strategic objectives for the development of their respective cities. This information empowers these stakeholders to make informed decisions, implement improvements, and enhance the overall value of their cities. Contribution & Value Added: The article employed ideal solution-based multi-criteria decision-making techniques to evaluate the brand image of cities as perceived by their inhabitants. We selected seven criteria to build the ranking showing the diversity in terms of residents’ satisfaction with living in the city in the following areas: environment and recreation, refinement and diversity, municipal facilities, public services, employment opportunities, cost-effectiveness, and security.

The article is concerned with professional marketing activities of cultural institutions and local governments. The article showcases the importance of local heritage and its influence on their distinctive and competitive character. The aim of the research is to attempt to complete the process of creating the cultural institution’s brand in the context of the city’s brand by the example of Poznań Heritage Centre. The background of the discussed issues is the presentation of the specificity of marketing activities in the culture industry and local government. The research conclusions show that the use of the brand model is an effective way to manage a cultural institution and provide effective support for the city’s image. The article was written using the method of analysing the literature and presenting a case study [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern life overloaded with information and events leads to a regular ranking of events in the urban space according to the principle of exceeding information noise. Similarly, cultural and leisure events are also subject to perceived ranking, leading to socio-cultural festivities identification. As a remarkable event in public cultural life, special events take over part of the socially significant functions of traditional events. However, for effective event implementation, it's necessary to understand their specifics, their content and implementation features. The article highlights three approaches to the identification of special events in city socio-cultural event structure. Based on the analysis of specifics of existing approaches to the definition, the types of special events in the urban space are analyzed and the event structure of the city of Ekaterinburg is characterized, including various types of events, as well as types of event subjects. Comparing the data obtained, the specifics of Ekaterinburg events were distinguished based on two factors: the coexistence of various types based on various methods of forming the "extraordinary happening" and various means of working with the audience, as well as significant contribution of initiative associations in thematic events creation. In conclusion, the development potential of urban special events based on these features is revealed. The presence of various levels and subjects of events forms attractive environment for visiting, and contains the potential for further development into a single interconnected system, the elements of which act in concert with each other to achieve socially significant goals. The formation of such a system and the use of the advantages of the audience diversity will allow working with visitors in a more personalized way, in accordance with the peculiarities of motivation and individual perception of the "specialty" of event.

The folklore of Nyai Sabirah is one of the diversity of Indonesian heritage as an hereditary oral tradition. As a female emancipation figure from the descendants of the Majapahit kingdom who fled from the siege of the invasion, Nyai Sabirah played a role as the founder mother of the Bakaran village by deforesting forests and building rural communities. Nyai Sabirah’s character is sacred by the people who penetrate the space between syncretism and social reality. This article examines the folklore of Nyai Sabirah, which has intangible and tangible local cultural heritage values which include four categories of folklore (myths, legends, saga and saying). Values and social education taught by Nyai Sabirah formed the Bakaran village community with high social tolerance. The establishment of Bakaran village and batik education with eighteen local batik motifs are forms of tangible heritage of high value. Finally, folklore is not just a legacy of oral tradition, but also contributes to the heritage of artifacts and products of community civilization that characterizes the face of Indonesian vernacular culture.

This article presents a case study on the influence of energy and ecological transition on a city's brand perception. Focusing on As Pontes, Spain, the study reveals how this socio-economic paradigm shift generates uncertainty, undesired expectations, and a negative self-image of the city. The objective is to reposition the city brand in alignment with the new paradigm. A literature review and Delphi technique were employed to validate the paradigm shift and anticipate its consequences. Analysis of a survey using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) shows a lack of awareness and high uncertainty among the local population. Another Delphi panel suggests cities to emulate and attributes for the city's brand repositioning. Repositioning aims to adapt to the new sustainability model, enhance competitiveness, and restore pride and belonging within the global context of cities. This study underscores the importance of understanding the challenges and opportunities during the energy and ecological transition for a city's identity and governance, providing guidance for effective brand repositioning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of the concept of brand is to make it easier to distinguish products that are similar to each other. Over time, the concept of brand has started to gain different and special meanings. The brand was first used for goods and services. But over time, the scope of the brand has expanded and it has begun to include different elements such as ideas, people, cities, countries, regions, places. Today, not only businesses or goods, but also countries or cities have brand values and there are images in people's minds related to them. These images affect people's preferences to trade, invest and visit the city in that city. This situation created an area of competition between neighboring cities. For this reason, many cities are trying to determine their existing city images and brand values of their cities and to make them better. In this study, the brand value of Aksaray province was tried to be determined in terms of the evaluations of the people living in the city. The opinions of the people living in Aksaray were tried to be determined with a questionnaire. The questionnaire form was applied face to face to the people in the city center and a total of 2,272 valid data were obtained. Statistical analyzes were made through the statistical program. As a result of the analyzes made, the first connotations for Aksaray were Malaklı Dog, Ihlara Valley and Hasan Mountain. Participants stated that Aksaray's brand value is lower than it should be. It has been observed that Aksaray is insufficient in terms of sports activities, international promotion activities, brand value of accommodation, alternative tourism activities, public behavior, social cultural activities, urban transportation and superstructure investments. It has been seen that the historical artifacts, belief centers and the location of the city are better in terms of competence. In addition, it has been observed that it is easy to make friends and the visitors of the city are satisfied. On the other hand, it was seen that public transportation and social activities were not sufficient. In order to improve Aksaray's brand value, it is recommended that more national and international promotional events be held first, and that more initiatives should be taken to host social, cultural and sportive events. In addition, it is recommended to design a city logo for Aksaray and to encourage the use of this logo in institutions, organizations and products related to the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The object of the article is the formation of marketing priorities for the successful development of a domestic city. The subject of the article is analytical tools for modeling the city brand. The article analyzes the current problems of branding territories in the context of intensified competition for resources and factors of production in postwar Ukraine. The authors consider the city's brand to be a kind of unique resource that will play an important role in the competition of territories. That is why, in the process of post-war development of domestic cities, the strategic vision of which should be formed now, even before the end of the war, it is necessary to identify the elements of the urban environment that will form the basis of the city's brand. The need to develop a city's (territory's) brand, taking into account the new reality, actualizes the scientific search in this direction. The research methodology is based on the fundamental provisions of the theory of branding and spatial identification, as well as the theory of stakeholders and its working tool - stakeholder analysis. The peculiarities of identifying stakeholders in the city development, their systematization and assessment using the tools of stakeholder analysis are determined. The approaches to the formation, definition and organization of the needs of the territory, taking into account the strategic context, are substantiated. The formalization of stakeholder behavior practices through the use of theo- retical game models is recommended. The results of the analysis of the possibilities of using international ratings for the development of territorial (primarily urban) branding strategies are presented. The main trends in urban innovation, which focus on the creation of esmart cities in post-war Ukraine, are outlined. The results obtained outline a set of complementary analytical methods and tools, the practical use of which will make it possible to modernize the branding of domestic territories. The proposed approach to the formation of a city brand based on the introduction of stakeholder analysis with appropriate tools can play an important role as a basis for creating effective methods of territory brand management. As well as the formation of strategies for their development, taking into account the strengths and weaknesses and development potential for the growth of the welfare of the population of the territory and Ukraine as a whole. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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New ways of promoting sustainable urban development are currently being sought. One of them is the slow city model, which has been implemented by some municipalities. This model forms the basis for cooperation between the cities within the international Cittaslow network. It has been assumed that the Cittaslow brand could generate numerous benefits for cities. It can be a significant regional growth and socio-economic development factor. However, city dwellers have to be familiar with the brand, and they have to understand the philosophy behind the Cittaslow movement. The aim of the present study is to assess the awareness of the Cittaslow brand among the residents of the cities that are members of the Cittaslow network. Data from the questionnaires have been classified into multiway tables. The chi-square test is used to examine the relationship between the attributes. The surveys conducted demonstrate that the residents are not sufficiently familiar with the Cittaslow brand to derive any potential benefits from their network membership. This observation suggests that city dwellers should be educated on the main tenets of the slow city concept. The present study demonstrates that urban residents' awareness of the Cittaslow brand, the slow city philosophy and the Cittaslow logo is influenced by their gender and age. These results show not only the need for education but also the need to promote the desirable forms of urban development; the respondents were familiar with some activities pertaining to the slow city concept, but they were not familiar with the other activities and did not link them to the Cittaslow movement. The most desirable ways of promoting the territorial Cittaslow brand were also identified. There is a general scarcity of research on the Cittaslow brand in Poland and in the world, and thus further studies are needed to formulate meaningful conclusions with the aim of promoting the development of the Cittaslow network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to avoid the phenomenon that thousand cities seem the same in the construction of smart cities and the efforts of all walks of life are jointed to implement the construction of smart cities and the creation of city brands. First, the basic theory of smart city construction is introduced. Second, the restricting and promoting factors influencing smart city construction and development are analyzes, and the evaluation system of smart city development is established. Then, the model for smart city construction and development based on the neural network is implemented. Finally, some domestic cities are selected as the dataset to build a training model, and the city brand optimization strategy is proposed. On this basis, an evaluation system for smart city development based on the intelligent neural network and Grey relational analysis Back Propagation Neural Network (GRA-BPNN) is obtained. The entropy weight method (EWM), grey relational analysis (GRA) method and the evaluation method based on Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solutionv (TOPSIS) are regarded as the members of the control group, and the results of different methods for evaluating the development of smart cities are compared. The results show that the modeling of smart city construction based on neural networks can help to implement an evaluation model for smart city construction and development, and it can help evaluate smart city construction and development accurately. And then the corresponding strategies are proposed to speed up the construction of smart cities with its local characteristics, and then city brands are built. Compared with other evaluation algorithms, the performance of the algorithm proposed is better and more stable and the evaluation results are more reasonable than those of the others, which can prove that the evaluation algorithm is feasible and scientific. This study provides a new idea for the application of deep learning to smart city construction and city brand building. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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While many researchers have documented the characteristics of China's growing tourism market, a comprehensive image scale of city brand for tourism has not yet been developed. This study investigates a semiotic image scale of city brands to encapsulate the contextual background of China and its ability to increase tourism efforts. This study attempts to extend the semiotic mapping of consumption values to city brand and develop it into an image scale of city brand in the perspective of tourism practitioners. In the process of developing an image scale for understanding the perception of the consumer's city brands, this study utilizes semiotic mapping of consumption values to analyse the consumer's image vocabulary. The image vocabularies are categorized into four quadrants (mission, project, euphoria, and information) as illustrated in the semiotic mapping of consumption values. In the Chinese context, the developed image scale extracts the value orientations of excellence, effectiveness, pleasantness, and convenience with these four quadrants to comprehend city brand in tourism perspective. By combining the measurement development with the reality of city tourism in China, the image scale will help to systematically understand the city brand image expressed through tourism in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study used Staggered DID on the panel data of 254 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2016 to explore the promotion effect and mechanism of innovative city pilot policy on urban brand development. The research shows that compared with cities without the pilot policy, the construction of innovative cities can increase the city brand value by 10% and has significantly promoted eastern, non-central cities with large populations and higher levels of science and education. Innovative city pilot policy can promote city brand development through cultural inheritance and innovation and entrepreneurship mechanisms. The results indicate that innovative city pilot policy has a significant spatial spillover effect on city brand development. Our findings add to the field of city brand evaluation by providing policy suggestions and experiential references for evaluating city brand development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Pacha: Revista de Estudios Contemporáneos del Sur Global is the property of PACHA REVISTA DE ESTUDIOS CONTEMPORANEOS DEL SUR GLOBAL and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study examines the problem of individualisation, individualisation of cities and its relationship with human capital. The strategies of Russian cities put human capital in one of the key positions, but the use of outdated methods of attracting the population has practically exhausted itself. In this regard, the authors put forward a hypothesis about a close connection between the individualisation of urban strategies and the preservation of human capital. Foreign approaches to the individualisation of cities have been considered. A mechanism for implementing individualised strategies of Russian cities by creating a city brand has been proposed as well as the key points of this process have been highlighted. The characteristic features of the formation of the brand of territories for different types of cities have been determined. It has been concluded that the manifestation of their individuality will help Russian cities in preserving human capital, as well as in attracting resources for their development.

The Mediterranean identity is becoming an intriguing tool for city authorities willing to implement policies of urban regeneration all over the basin. More specifically, all around the Mediterranean coast, independently on the national and local features, many cities are branding their identity as a “Mediterranean one” to promote gentrification projects, attract investments, develop tourism and re-shape their cultural identity for the global scene.In our paper, we are going to investigate the main common characters of this Mediterranean branding process by comparing three cases of very different Mediterranean cities: Napoli, Marseille and Rijeka. These cities are peripherally located within their national territories and although part of quite diverse nation-building process, they are all targets of regeneration policies that exploit their maritime immaterial and material heritage, usually emphasized by “big events” (such as ECOC in Marseille 2013 and Rijeka 2020, or the America’s cup in Napoli). Thus, our aim is twofold: on one hand we shall point out the common ideological features of this regeneration-oriented Mediterranean narrative by focusing on and deconstructing the driving concept of local cosmopolitanism. On the other one, we will explore the practices of exclusion hidden behind this Mediterranean narrative by stressing the unspoken discard and removal of some undesired people, histories and heritage from the picture of regeneration. Our investigation is based on the quantitative and qualitative analysis of tourist masterplans, city sponsored cultural promotion materials and audio-visual advertisements of the city. Also, visual ethnography of the urban beaches, port-areas and waterfronts aimed at detecting and quantifying landmarks, signs and symbols of the Mediterranean-ess.

This study aims to identify the evolution, trends and research agenda in city brand research. The methodology used was a science mapping bibliometric and network analysis using both, WoS and Scopus databases, to do a systematic literature review. The results of this analysis resulted in four possible perspectives in the research on city brand: Marketing of city brand, Residents and city brand, Governance of city brand and Economic and social impact of city brand. Like all bibliometric studies, this one has limitations due to its specific methodology, such as the consultation of databases that possibly excluded other studies that could offer a broader panorama, likewise, the analysis network methodology proposed perspectives that they can also be limited and exclusive. This study presents a novelty of the bibliometric analysis tool in the city brand research.

Şehirler, bir yerleşim yeri olmakla birlikte aynı zamanda sosyal, kültürel ve ekonomik etkileşim merkezleridir. Şehirlerin en önemli görevlerinden biri vatandaşlarının huzurunu ve refahını artırmaktır. Şehirlerin bu görevlerini yerine getirebilmeleri için somut değerlerin yanında soyut değerler de üretmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu soyut değerlerin başında marka yer almaktadır. Şehirlerin markalaşma yolu ile soyut değerlere sahip olması, bir ürünün ulaşamayacağı derecede yüksek gelire ulaşması anlamına gelmektedir. Bu yüksek gelire ulaşmak isteyen şehirlerin son yıllarda markalaşma çalışmalarına önem verdikleri görülmektedir. Markalaşma çalışmaları çoğunlukla dış hedef kitleye yönelik yapılmaktadır. Ancak, iç hedef kitlede markalaşmayan hiçbir ürün, hizmet veya değer, gerçekten markalaşmış olmaz. Markanın en önemli temsilcilerinden olan iç hedef kitle, aynı zamanda markanın bir taşıyıcısı ve inşa edicisi konumundadır. İç hedef kitleye diğer bir ifadeyle o şehirde ikamet eden bireylere odaklanan bu araştırma, bireylerin kendi şehirleriyle ilgili marka tutumlarını ölçmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Doğu Karadeniz Bölgesi’nde yer alan yedi şehir üzerinde gerçekleştirilen bu araştırmada, her bir şehirde yaşayan şehir sakinlerine kendi şehirleri ile ilgili marka tutumları sorulmuş ve elde edilen cevaplar analiz edilmiştir. İstatistik paket programı yardımıyla analiz edilen sonuçlar, temelde iki farklı boyutta incelenmiştir. İlk boyut tüm şehirlerden toplanan verilerle bölge şehirlerinin geneline yönelik tutumları içerirken, ikinci boyutta ise her bir şehir ayrı ayrı analiz edilmektedir. Frekans, güvenilirlik ve faktör analizlerinden yararlanılan bu araştırma, 1315 kişi üzerinde uygulanmış ve 1221 anket araştırmaya dahil edilmiştir. Bu çalışmada bölge şehirlerine yönelik genel marka tutumlarının beş faktör çerçevesinde kavramsallaştırılabildiği görülmektedir. Bunlar; aidiyet, özdeğer, farkındalık, kalite ve çekiciliktir.

Purpose: The article describes a model approach to the profile of cultural institution manager in the context of their involvement in building the city brand. The research also reveals soft organizational/ management skills, which can nowadays determine the effectiveness of actions for the city brand. Design/methodology/approach: The background of the research was the developed brand strategy of the City of Lodz (Brand Management Strategy for the years 2010–2016), which assumed the direction of building the city brand based on culture (cultural resources), new media and creative industry. The empirical basis is constituted by face-to-face interviews with managers and employees in the city’s cultural institutions in Lodz. Data analysis was carried out by the principles of grounded theory methodology. Findings: The analysis shows that the “psychological maturity – personality” of a cultural institution manager is more important in recognizing opportunities and threats in the environment than the “professional experience” of the manager. The “human personality” component allows for more skillful management of the city’s resource potential and for the search for positive and negative effects of action on the part of cultural institutions that have an impact on the creation of the Lodz city brand. Today’s managers are very committed and organized persons, able to observe and learn from their own mistakes and finding opportunities for development. They are managers who are aware of the opportunities offered by cultural institution involvement in activities for the city of Lodz and want to participate in such projects. On the other hand, they clearly see the consequences of lost benefits resulting from wrong decisions (e.g. the outflow of famous people, events, etc.). Despite a larger number of observed positive features of managers, the research revealed those with a negative strain, i.e. indifference, ignorance of tasks, helplessness, etc. Such behavior may result from communication and relationship problems between cultural institutions and the organizations to which they are subject. In the process of research, it could be observed that managers have very broad knowledge of different areas of life. This can also influence the perception of the environment and the accurate assessment of actions for the city brand. Research limitations/implications: This study is only of cognitive character in order to understand or discover a new trend. The interdependencies observed during the research are a just a small part and still need to be explored. The developed cultural institution manager profile is not the final version. This may change, which is also caused by the adopted research method – the grounded theory. Originality/value: The identified profile of the cultural institution manager can be helpful when employing appropriate specialists, taking into account the interests of cultural institutions and the city. In this way, it can contribute to more effective implementation of the brand strategy adopted by the city. The research results presented in the article are the effect of a systematic analysis of information collected and analyzed following the adopted research method, the so-called grounded theory.

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Objective Beside cultural, historical and natural attractions, the city of Rasht has been selected as one of the ten most creative gastronomy cities in the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. Therefore, there is a desirable position to raise the mental image of the city brand and gain economic and social benefits accordingly. This study, hence, is an initial attempt to create a new approach to the study of branding in the city of Rasht through identifying a set of symbolic resources to visualize the city. This study examines the descriptions and perceptions of the city of Rasht from the symbolic perspective and specifically attempts to design the story of the Rasht brand through identifying the symbolic themes of the city in various media. The present study, as a preliminary and exploratory study, seeks to answer these questions: “what are Rasht’s fantasy themes (as symbolic realities) reported in the media?” and “how is the story of Rasht brand defined based on symbolic facts?” Methodology In this study, using the fantasy theme analysis method (FTA), it is examined how the city of Rasht is portrayed in the studied media from the perspective of centrality of food and other attractions. This method examines convergence in texts to discover a deeper system of meaning through new experiences that are imagined and interpreted. In fact, FTA is a grounded theory that contradicts the hypothetico-deductive model of research and inductively examines textual, auditory, and visual data. The statistical population of this study includes all the contents published in personal, acquired and shared media regarding Rasht brand. Findings Seven fantasy themes were identified as symbolic realities of Rasht city as a result of reviewing the convergence of the content of the texts published in the media including: nature dance on Rasht heavenly table; cultural museum of food; adventurous eating habits of Rasht; the nature of Gilan's public culture in the world's largest bazaar; souvenirs and gifts, cultural ambassadors of Rasht; the architecture of the world and time; and the land of the Great. Therefore, applying the symbolic realities, the proposed story of Rasht brand was designed. Conclusion Successful city brands must inspire the public and create good feelings and associations. The brand of the city must describe the image of the city and stimulate human emotions and imagination based on the values and beliefs of the city. As a result, the contents in the media regarding the city's symbolic realities must be developed in a way to impress the audience.

The purpose of the study is to provide effective direction and ideas for urban modernization and promote the development of the city innovation economy and the stability of the employment rate. First, the main contents and influencing factors of urban culture construction are introduced. Second, the construction of city cultural images and the social capital of new entrepreneurs are discussed, and the relationship between the two is analyzed. Then, Interpretative Structural Modeling Method (ISM) is put forward, and five influencing factors of city entrepreneurial environments are expounded. A questionnaire survey is designed based on the ISM model, and a nationwide survey of new entrepreneurs is carried out. The survey results show that entrepreneurs of different genders, ages, and educational levels have different degrees of concern for the city image. Among them, the entrepreneurs with different educational levels have the most obvious difference in their attention to the cultural image of the city (p < 0.05). In addition, public transportation, educational conditions, tourism resources, air quality, and image orientation are the most obvious factors affecting the construction of city brand images (p < 0.05). The influence of the educational level of residents and investment environment on new entrepreneurs is more prominent. This shows that in the process of shaping the city brand image, the improvement of city culture is helpful for new enterprises. The more perfect the city culture is, the more attractive it will be for highly educated entrepreneurs. The study can help relevant decision-makers to plan the future development direction of the city more accurately and realize the stable development of city brand images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Rozwój Regionalny & Polityka Regionalna is the property of Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza (IH UAM) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Tourism & Rural Development Studies / Turisztikai és Vidékfejlesztési Tanulmányok is the property of CampInvest Kft. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)