Regional Studies, Regional Science: 2014 in review (part I)

:::Most Read Articles:::

Andrew Beer; Terry Clower (2014) Mobilizing leadership in cities and regions,
Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 5-20.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2013.869428#tabModule

Ed Manley (2014) Identifying functional urban regions within traffic flow,
Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 40-42.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.891649#.VJ2jZsCA

Ana Rita Cruz (2014) Tourism, creativity and talent: breaking Algarve’s tourism
lock-in, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 138-144.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.939529#.VJ2jasCA

Sarah Ayres (2014) Place-based leadership: reflections on scale, agency and
theory, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 21-24.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2013.869424#.VJ2jesCA

Alasdair Rae; Alex Singleton (2014) Open access and Regional Studies,
Regional Science, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 1-4.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2013.869423#.VJ2jfsCA

Timo Mitze (2014) Does regional science need an experimentalist buzz?,
Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 51-59.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.898906#.VJ2jksCA

Basak Demires Ozkul (2014) Changing home-to-work travel in England and
Wales, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 32-39.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.887899#.VJ2jjsCA

Stephen Miller (2014) The Strathclyde Technology and Innovation Centre
(TIC) in Scotland’s innovation system, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 145-151.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.944208#.VJ2josCA

Markku Sotarauta (2014) Reflections on ‘Mobilizing leadership in cities and
regions’, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 28-31.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2013.869431#.VJ2mlsCA

Jelisaveta Mihajlović (2014) The discursive construction of regional development policy of the North Bačka region, Serbia, Regional Studies, Regional Science, 1:1, 269-275.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21681376.2014.967804#.VJ2mmsCA

Place Branding & Strategic Spatial Planning: 2014 in review

Herewith my 2014 contributions to the place branding & strategic spatial planning debate as well as some reflections on the 'creative city' and today's urban planning practice published in various top academic journals. 

If you are interested, please email me eduardo.hsoliveira@gmail.com and I will send you the PDF.

Thank you for being an attentive reader and an enthusiast commentator 

​

Oliveira, Eduardo & Panyik, Emese (2015). Content, context and co-creation: Digital challenges in destination branding with references to Portugal as a tourist destination. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 21(1): 53-74. 

Abstract

Content generated by tourists, travellers, professional travel bloggers and travel journalists who post, 

comment and share information on social media channels is arguably the greatest digital challenge of 

destination branding today. The tourist-/traveller-generated content is likely to generate brand value 

if integrated into the destination branding strategy. There is, however, a lack of theoretical awareness 

and empirical research into the role of social media content in shaping destination brands. By taking 

Portugal as a case study, this exploratory research is aimed to show how content analysis can be used 

to identify and understand the way tourists and travellers perceive the country as a tourist destination. 

The application of this methodology on online material could contribute to a refined destination branding 

initiative for Portugal by integrating user-generated and travel experts content into the strategy. It 

applies textual content analysis by using qualitative data analysis software (i.e. ATLAS.ti 7.0), within an 

interpretative paradigm, on tourism-oriented online publications in which the tourism potential of Portugal 

has been discussed. The findings highlight the tourist/traveller as an opinion maker with access to 

a plethora of information communication technologies to act as co-creators of brands. Therefore, it is 

wise to engage them and strategically integrate the content they generate into the whole destination 

branding effort. 

(Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2015). Book Review - Good Cities, Better Places, Journal Urban Studies, 52(1): 197-200. 

With contributions from Nicholas Falk, founder Director of the URBED, Peter Hall’s new book, Good Cities, Better Lives: How Europe Discovered the Lost Art of Urbanism, is a critical, rigorous and deeply researched account of how to create better cities and towns in which citizens can live, work and play. In addition, the book adds much to the practice of urban planning, just as an emerging urban world and third wave of cities take shape on the global landscape (Scott, 2012). It provides lessons for countries facing urban dilemmas, social inequalities and spatial challenges. Emerging cities, intrinsically intertwined with complex globalisation processes, which bind them ever more tightly together as mutually dependent nodes, are facing a bewildering urban illness. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014), 

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The Tourism Potential of Northern Portugal and Its Relevance for a Regional Branding Strategy, Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research Journal, 2(2): 54-78. 

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to explore a potential regional 

branding strategy for the northern part of Portugal, emphasizing 

the regional tourism potential. Furthermore, it aims to clarify the 

answers of the following research questions: i) is tourism a 

strategic domain with the potential to integrate a branding strategy 

at the regional level? ii) is a regional branding strategy an engine 

by which to enable economic and social transformation in the 

region, thus responding to the contemporary challenges such as 

weak economic confidence and unemployment? To answer these 

questions, a content analysis on the policy documents: i) Northern 

Portugal Strategic Guidelines 2014-2020 and ii) National Strategic Plan 

for Tourism 2013-2015 has been performed. In addition, the article 

details the results of in-depth interviews conducted with two 

regional entities: i) Tourism of Porto and the North of Portugal 

(TPNP), in charge of national tourism planning and promotion and 

ii) North Regional Coordination and Development Commission 

(CCDRN), involved in regional planning and development. The 

findings reinforce the importance of tourism as a strategic domain 

to boost the economy and create momentum in Northern Portugal. 

Moreover, tourism is seen by the respondents as a key objective in 

a regional branding strategy. 

(Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014). Place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, doi:10.1057/pb.2014.12. 

Abstract

Places are facing major challenges at the environmental, financial and economic levels. These crucial issues demand structural changes and emphasise the need for robust strategic thinking and active instruments that shape and frame what a place is and what it aims to become. As traditional planning instruments become markedly less effective, spatial planners are required to develop new instruments that cope more effectively with the challenges they face in an unbalanced, dynamic and complex environment, while at the same time addressing the social, spatial and economic needs of a place. Place branding has been used to foster economic restructuring, social inclusion and cohesion, political engagement and participation, place identification, and the general well-being of citizens. This article aims to contribute to the academic debate by discussing why and how place branding can be used as an instrument in strategic spatial planning to support a structural change in places. This conceptual article emphasises that place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument can contribute to improvement of economic and social structure of places and reshape responses to contemporary challenges faced by places. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014). Book Review - Reframing the ‘creative city’ through tailored and context-sensitive policies, Journal CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, 18(4/5):598-602 

Place-making and Policies for Competitive 

Cities is a book that investigates 

the relevance of pathways, place and 

personal networks in the fast-moving field 

of urban economic competitiveness. The 3Ps 

concept, together with urban policies tailored 

to the specific contexts in which cities 

operate, provide the theoretical framework 

and the structural logic for the book. 

(Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014): Book Review - Making Strategies in Spatial Planning-Knowledge and Values, European Planning Studies, 22(4): 885-888 

A mix of feelings crossed my mind when I decided to embrace the challenge of writing a 

book review for the European Planning Studies Journal. I started slightly fearfully, 

because of my “young” intellectual trajectory in the planning field. Nevertheless, I was 

passionately enthusiastic about doing it with an open mind and critical thinking. As a 

planner, I agree that thinking in new ways to address challenges is the cornerstone for territorial 

development and spatial transformation. 

(Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014): Conference Note - International Conference on Sustainable Issues and Challenges in Tourism, Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25(1): 150-152 

The International Conference on Sustainable Issues and Challenges in Tourism was held 

on 3–5 October 2013 at Bog˘azic i University, Istanbul, Turkey in order to celebrate the 

university’s 150th anniversary (1863–2013). The event was organized by Maria 

D. Alvarez (Bogazic i University, Turkey), in collaboration with Ali Bakir (Buckinghamshire 

New University, UK) and Eugenia Wickens (Help 2 Educate Foundation, UK). The 

conference featured high-quality presentations, bringing together perspectives from 

academicians and practitioners on the challenges that sustainability poses to tourism 

activities, destinations, stakeholders, and organizations. The programme was designed to 

provide a platform to exchange ideas, concepts, and best practices. The goal was to 

contribute towards a deeper understanding of the complex topic of sustainability in 

tourism, as Professor Maria D. Alvarez underlined during the welcoming remarks. 

(Download)

A Strategic Spatial Planning Approach to Cross-Border Place Branding with references to Galicia and Northern Portugal

Forthcoming book chapter

Abstract This chapter adopts a strategic spatial planning approach to think strategically about potential joint place branding initiatives between cross-border regions. The case study focuses on the extended cross-border European region composed of the NUTS 3 Minho-Lima, Cávado, Ave, Grande Porto, Tâmega, Entre Douro e Vouga, Douro, and Alto Trás-os-Montes of Northern Portugal and the provinces of A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, and Pontevedra of the Autonomous Community of Galicia in northwest Spain. 

Bearing in mind the mismatch of styles of regional government systems, the approval by the European Commission of the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation Galicia-North Portugal, and the current socio-economic environment, this chapter discusses the possibility of joining forces, procedures and strategic tools in order to enhance the reputation and give visibility to this European regional conurbation. In addition, this chapter intends to shed some light on the empirical significance of a cross-border place branding strategy able to encourage entrepreneurship, job creation, trade and investment. It draws important lessons from the idea of inter-regional branding and aims to encourage a unique cross-border storyline. 

The chapter directly addresses the need to develop place branding, independently of the geographical scale of application, through a strategic spatial planning approach. Here the complex inter-regional branding exercises carried out by the Øresund and the Baltic Sea regions are taken as comparative cases. This chapter also aims to contribute to the academic debate on inter-regional place branding by discussing the potential development of place branding initiatives across-administrative-border regions underpinned by knowledge from strategic spatial planning literature.

(draft version) 

Place branding debate: 2014 in review

Herewith our 2014 contributions to the place branding debate published in http://placesbrands.com/ a blog edited and curated by Samantha North, https://twitter.com/placesbrands

Shifting the tide: city branding in today’s urban planning

In this post I will briefly outline these dominant urban trends and discuss how place branding can bring more creativity, enthusiasm and coolness to urban planning practice. 
http://placesbrands.com/shifting-the-tide-city-branding-in-todays-urban-planning/

Scoring goals, building brands

In my last post, I shared my thoughts on country and city brand rankings. Now, I want to debate the entanglements of another competition, the FIFA World Cup 2014. 
http://placesbrands.com/scoring-goals-building-brands/

The winner takes it all: City brand rankings

Despite my academic research on the links between place branding and spatial planning, I’m also an attentive observer of everyday events. Over the last few weeks, I have witnessed the release of a cacophony of city and country brand rankings, brand barometers and nonsensical top 10 lists of something spatially localised.
http://placesbrands.com/the-winner-takes-it-all-city-brand-rankings/

Colourful logos, dark realities

I want to follow up on my thoughts about the application of branding techniques to places, in particular by highlighting elements often hidden by scholars and misunderstood by practitioners. Nowadays, policy makers and practitioners tend to apply place branding as a ‘magical tool’ to solve everyday challenges. But that application has pitfalls that should be carefully contextualised, not randomly applied. 
http://placesbrands.com/colourful-logos-dark-realities/

Thank you for being an attentive reader and an enthusiast commentator 
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Read more on place (city) branding, diplomacy, geopolitical issues
PlacesBrands hosts regular interview slots with people making waves within the industry, from brand consultants to doctoral candidates and academics, from human rights activists to company directors. PlacesBrands thrives on its community of thought leaders and industry enthusiasts, sharing their ideas and knowledge on the website and via social media channels. 
http://placesbrands.com/

Check the services we offer to putting your place more firmly on the world map.
http://placesbrands.com/services/

50 years of the Regional Studies Association

Dear Students & Early Careers, 
we would like to thank your support during 2014. It was great to feel your enthusiasm during conferences and social events. After a great year, we wish you all season’s greetings. 

We look forward to see you in 2015 and celebrate the 50 years of the Regional Studies Association 

Sincerely, 
Julie Miao Tian, RSA Early Career Rep. 
Eduardo Oliveira, RSA Student Rep. 

City Nation Place online survey

New project aiming to create a global picture

of Place Branding strategies. Complete our new survey:

City Nation Place project is aiming to create a first global picture of place branding sector and understand how to improve place branding strategies for cities, countries and nations worldwide.

The survey will benchmark best practice in place branding which will bring together national, regional and city government leaders, heads of tourism and investment boards, heads of trade and those responsible for bidding to host international sporting and cultural events.

Completing the survey will take no longer than 8 minutes and all of your responses will be treated as confidential and anonymised.

PLUS! All participants can enter our prize draw to win an iPad Mini.

Survey 

populus.livesurveys.net/P004936&iflag=1 

Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking (c)

Spain with its strong tourism brand is still reigning as number 1 tourism destination in Europe, followed by European tourism powerhouses Germany, France, Italy and United Kingdom

According to Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © 2014 Tourism Edition, this year proves to be similar to the previous one which means that the TOP 5 Destination brands in Europe are Spain, Germany, France, Italy and United Kingdom. Spain is still “the one and only” within the Europe region as its powerful reign continues even though the growth is still negatively affected due to the post-crisis period. This year Italy surpassed United Kingdom because of better performance in the social media field by having more followers and likes on different online platforms. Turkey earned the 8^th position and made it to the TOP 10. The small alpine countries Austria (6^th) and Switzerland (7^th) managed to outperform most of the European countries proving that the country’s size is not a determining factor in terms of Country Branding. In addition, international tourists relate European countries mostly to brandtags such as local gastronomy, local traditions, beaches and shopping.

On the link below, you can find the full version of the ranking with the results and methodology:

http://bloom-consulting.com/pdf/rankings/Bloom_Consulting_Country_Brand_Ranking_Tourism.pdf

For more information please visit our company’s website: www.bloom-consulting.com

POZnan Best Place Summit

International Regional Science Review Table of Contents for January 2015; Vol. 38, No. 1

International Regional Science Review January 2015; Vol. 38, No. 1 Articles Problem-driven Research in Regional Science Ann Markusen Toward Inclusive Growth: Is There Regional Convergence in Social Welfare? Andrés Rodríguez-Pose and Vassilis Tselios Lake Amenities, Environmental Degradation, and Great Lakes Regional Growth Heather M. Stephens and Mark D. Partridge Public Debt and Economic Geography Federico Trionfetti

Close to finish a next paper on place branding

We love cycling - Portugal

Marketing Theory

Articles Managing the politics of value propositions Hervé Corvellec and Johan Hultman Non-representational marketing theory Tim Hill, Robin Canniford, and Joeri Mol Gaining access to agency and structure in industrial marketing theory: A critical pluralist approach John D. Nicholson, Ross Brennan, and Gerald Midgley The young consumer-citizen: Nationhood and environmentalism in children’s identity narratives Teresa Davis and Julie E. Francis Re-cognising the interactive space: Marketing for social transformation Terry Nolan and Richard J. Varey The brand personality of rocks: A critical evaluation of a brand personality scale Mark Avis, Sarah Forbes, and Shelagh Ferguson Threats to the scientific status of experimental consumer psychology: A Darwinian perspective Edward F. McQuarrie

Commentaries Myth and ideology in consumer culture theory James A. Fitchett, Georgios Patsiaouras, and Andrea Davies Consumer Culture Theory – Neo-liberalism’s ‘useful idiots’? Søren Askegaard

Regional Studies Regional Science

Celebrating the 1st Year of Regional Studies, Regional Science  The first year of RSRS saw …  27 open access articles published, the work of 39authors The average paper taking just 14 weeks from submission to publication 11 early career researchers mentored to publication 17,020 full-text downloads by readers in 113 countries Articles published by researchers based in: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. 15% of downloads by visitors from social media sites Thank you to all who made this such a successful year.

Editors-in-Chief: Alasdair Rae & Alex Singleton   Share on Facebook   Share on Twitter   Forward to a friend

Want to publish your paper in Regional Studies, Regional Science? The journal welcomes submissions on regional issues in economics, geography, planning, political science, and related fields. With streamlined peer-review the journal accommodates research articles, shorter policy briefings and a new ‘regional graphics’ section, reflecting the growing importance of data visualisation in our field. Explore the advantages of publishing inRSRS. Early Career PapersRSRS has a section specifically devoted to Early Career Papers which focuses on publishing short articles from students and early career researchers to make their research accessible to a wider audience. Articles in the Early Career Papers section will have a regional focus and will succinctly present the research questions and results whether preliminary or final. Find out more about the Early Careers section.

News & Recent publications

Oliveira, Eduardo (2015). Book Review - Good Cities, Better Places, Journal Urban Studies, 52(1): 197-200. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014), The Tourism Potential of Northern Portugal and Its Relevance for a Regional Branding Strategy, Advances in Hospitality and Tourism Research Journal, 2(2): 54-78. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014). Place branding as a strategic spatial planning instrument. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, doi:10.1057/pb.2014.12. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo & Panyik, Emese (2014). Content, context and co-creation: Digital challenges in destination branding with references to Portugal as a tourist destination. Journal of Vacation Marketing, doi: 10.1177/1356766714544235. (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014). Book Review - Reframing the ‘creative city’ through tailored and context-sensitive policies, Journal CITY: analysis of urban trends, culture, theory, policy, action, 18(4/5):598-602 (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014): Book Review - Making Strategies in Spatial Planning-Knowledge and Values, European Planning Studies, 22(4): 885-888 (Download)

Oliveira, Eduardo (2014): Conference Note - International Conference on Sustainable Issues and Challenges in Tourism, Anatolia: An International Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Research, 25(1): 150-152 (Download)

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Re blogged - Shifting the tide: city branding in today’s urban planning

First published:
http://placesbrands.com/shifting-the-tide-city-branding-in-todays-urban-planning/

Edited by Samantha North

Posted by Eduardo Oliveira on Dec 1, 2014

A recent tweet from Malcolm Allan, director of Place Matters, said that place branding should ‘infuse town planning with new energy, insight and purpose’. This inspired me to put together some thoughts about major urban trends and the role place branding can play in boosting urban planning practices. Today’s cities have become places of abundance, underpinned by large, and often uncontrolled, amounts of private capital, speculative development and foreign investment in property.

A frenetic urban-competitiveness brings a sense of vulnerability based on job insecurity, unaffordable housing, lack of sense of belonging, place attachment and a marked increase in loneliness. The existence of these issues calls for new approaches in urban planning and city management.

In this post I will briefly outline these dominant urban trends and discuss how place branding can bring more creativity, enthusiasm and coolness to urban planning practice.

Urban competitiveness: obsession, vulnerability and uncertain futures

Places often compete with each to attract more investment, tourism and labour force, as well as sporting and cultural events, and talented and skilful people. The economist Paul Krugman has long advised that it is incorrect to assume a country’s economic success is largely influenced by its performance on world markets. However, competition has been transferred from nations to regions and now from regions to cities. The desire to become a competitive city, showcasing GDP indicators, or top positions in any city-brand index, remains an urban fetish for some policy-makers and city managers.

Joseph Stiglitz, who recently debated the Age of Vulnerability, points out that a decrease in ‘urban societal wellbeing’ may be far larger than that indicated by conventional GDP measures or competitiveness indicators. Relying exclusively on economic indicators will present a distorted picture of urban realities – e.g people worrying about job security and unemployment. These insecurities or vulnerabilities gain expression in urban spaces, not only in the US but worldwide. Here I stress the obsession of world major cities to compete – even though most of them are faced with huge inequalities and insecurity.

From the US to Europe, individuals face unfair policy in health, housing and judicial systems and a lack of social protection – while unjustified events or private investments are taking place in the urban fabric and urban planners are unable to change the tide. In addition, a lack of civic engagement, participation and cooperation between all the living-forces in the city remains in today’s urban planning practice.

Places, both cities and nations, have enough resources to focus more on cooperation, redistribution and bottom-up approaches to delivering fair and equal opportunities. But can place branding inject a new burst of energy into urban planning?

- See more at: http://placesbrands.com/shifting-the-tide-city-branding-in-todays-urban-planning/#sthash.vYPAEnbD.dpuf