Developing Place Character Appraisal Tool through Phenomenological Inquiry on City Branding

The research investigates the essence of place branding through the lens of phenomenology of the cityscape. Place branding is a subset of city branding, which is an interdisciplinary strategy involving multiple stakeholders. Identifying tangible and intangible attributes would help plan, design, develop and revitalize places in the city with its own uniqueness. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among key informants of urban professionals working in the design, planning and development of cities within the research protocol. The inquiries were based on their diverse experience in related fields of design, architecture, city planning, urban design, event management, branding, marketing and property development all in the context of the city. Data was analysed using multi-method urban analysis, content, thematic and cross-case analysis to achieve empirical results. The results reveal that in appraising place character, the thematic domains are categorized into comprehensive key areas namely Place Value, Integrated Design, Stakeholder Synergy, Sense of Belonging, Signature District, Archetypal Landmark, Public Interior and City Information Design. An in-depth finding from this research would assist in assessing a place’s uniqueness through appraising place character using a systematic tool. The place character appraisal tool could facilitate city branding strategies through holistic and sustainable urban design.