Branding the eco-city: Rhetoric or reality?
A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 4458
Special Issue Editor
Interests: place branding; place identity; corporate social responsibility; urban development and change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past two decades, researchers have focused their attention on understanding the concept of eco-cities as a means to realise sustainable urban development. Within this debate, some authors have questioned whether the eco-city model is no more than a branding hoax (Yigitcanlar and Lee, 2014). In practice, there is evidence of the widespread adoption of eco-city models as a mechanism to achieve sustainable development (Caprotti, 2014; de Jong, Chen, Joss, Lu, Zhao, Yang, and Zhang, 2018).
The aim of this Special Issue of Sustainability is to critically examine the connections between city branding and sustainable urban development, with a particular focus on eco-city models. This special issue welcomes papers that investigate whether these two frameworks for organising and governing urban development are conceptually compatible, realistic, and potentially synergistic in their ambitions. Alternatively, is there evidence to show that eco-city branding strategies are little more than a rhetorical device? Contributions are encouraged on topics that bridge the theories and practice of branding eco-cities. In particular, papers on the following topics are encouraged:
- Evidence-based outcomes of eco-city branding strategies to achieve sustainable outcomes
- Stakeholder perceptions of eco-city brands (including credibility, uniqueness, and fit)
- The influence of eco-urbanism on cities’ branding strategies and practices
- The process of and mechanisms for constructing eco-city branding strategies
- Residents’ participation and engagement in eco-city branding
- The interplay of economic and industrial development on cities’ eco-brand positioning
- The role of scale and status in national and global city hierarchies in influencing eco-city branding strategies and practices
- Discourse analysis, as well as other approaches, to examine the meaning of eco-city brands
- Re-branding and repositioning city brands as eco-cities so as to achieve sustainable urban development
References
de Jong, M., Chen, Y., Joss, S., Lu, H., Zhao, M., Yang, Q., & Zhang, C. (2018). Explaining city branding practices in China's three mega-city regions: The role of ecological modernization. Journal of Cleaner Production, 179, 527-543. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.01.098
Caprotti, F. (2014). Critical research on eco-cities? A walk through the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City, China. Cities, 36, 10-17. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2013.08.005
Yigitcanlar, T., & Lee, S. H. (2014). Korean ubiquitous-eco-city: A smart-sustainable urban form or a branding hoax? Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 89, 100-114. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2013.08.034
Dr. Andrea Insch
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sustainable urbanisation
- eco-cities
- city branding
- sustainability
- urban planning
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.