Although place branding in cross-border (c-b) areas is challenging, various c-b areas with common eco-natural and cultural characteristics are popular tourist brands in their own right. The emergence ...of c-b areas as destinations is not surprising since international borders are often natural formations, which may be popular tourist attractions. Due to historical and political circumstances, the Greek–Albanian c-b area has not experienced tourism development. It bears a weak image, and although individual destinations can be found in both border areas, they do not currently form a single place brand. Thus, place branding that aims to enhance the c-b area’s attractiveness should start with building a single identity by finding common competitive characteristics upon which it can be based. This paper analyzes part of the ‘Culture Plus’ project, which aims to identify significant common eco-natural and cultural resources in the Greek–Albanian c-b area. The resources were documented using local visits, interviews, and consultations. The most significant ones were comparatively evaluated to identify the vital common assets that can support place branding efforts, with encouraging results regarding the potential branding of the unique hidden identity of the c-b area.
For many cities, abandoned or underused spaces pose a major challenge, but temporary use is being manifested as a tool that can offer solutions. So-called “meanwhile spaces” provide opportunities for ...city officials to create the conditions for the cultural economy to be supported while simultaneously meeting urban regeneration goals and supporting city marketing purposes. In European cities, such as Berlin, Ghent, Nantes, and Bremen, there are examples where “temporary urbanism” is being incorporated into mainstream policy and is forming part of the city’s identity and tourism promotion. Temporary use is discussed in the context of current challenges facing European cities (austerity crisis, unemployment, refugee crisis, lack of affordable housing or office space). In this paper, the focus is on the creative sector. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked discussion on how temporary use can cover a community’s needs. In this contextual framework, the scope was to explore the conditions under which temporary use becomes an effective policy tool and discuss management issues and difficulties that may arise. A description and analysis of the particularities of initiatives that were implemented in Athens compared to the ones in other European cities are presented. This paper is partly based on the works of the Athens URBACT Refill project, which included an extended consultation process with local stakeholders. Further field research was conducted regarding how temporary use initiatives with a cultural focus have been managed and the way the relations between owners, managers, and users were formed. Feedback from users and stakeholders’ representatives is presented. The key findings refer to the evaluation of the approaches used in temporary use initiatives with a cultural focus, the future perspectives, and the difficulty with drawing early conclusions on the effectiveness of these initiatives and the impact on the reputation of the city. Finally, the discussion is linked with promoting Athens as a city that allows experimentation by citizens’ groups and cultural initiatives in the context of temporary interventions.
As culture and the arts gain importance within the agendas of cities, the operation of urban creative clusters is manifested as an effective planning tool for rundown neighbourhoods. Artists and ...cultural businesses (galleries, theatres, design offices, fashion designers, etc.) form a unique and distinctive sector among other sectors of the economy; their effect on the development and image of a particular neighbourhood can be very important. As part of wider urban processes, city marketing and city branding techniques are often used in order to promote the change in these neighbourhoods and, ideally, prevent negative social effects. The main goal of this paper is to present the experience and implications of the - mostly accidental - formation of a creative cluster in Athens (in the areas surrounding the Athenian part of Piraeus Street) and to critically evaluate the potential role of branding, drawing on the experience of similar efforts in other European cities.
As the creative city discourse has come to the centre of cultural policy debates, its rhetoric often neglects smaller cities and emphasises the cases of large cities that employ culture as a driver ...for economic growth. However, the cultural strategies of many medium sized and small cities focus more on social objectives. This seems to be the case for Greek cities of medium and small size. In order to determine the contemporary cultural strategies employed by local authorities and the State a survey was undertaken by the authors in 20 cities. Part of it focused on an examination of municipal and public cultural and educational infrastructure as a body of evidence for identifying these strategies. The findings of the survey indicate that the cities share common strategies which are mainly introverted, community-oriented and only slightly related to economic considerations; however, these strategies offer some opportunities for promoting a positive image and fostering creativity.
Greek port cities find themselves in a profound and encompassing change as they try to improve their image and confront the competition for advanced port services and facilities and the need for ...urban revitalization. As port functions are increasingly relocated towards the outskirts of port cities, disadvantaged neighbourhoods and docks are turned into modern housing and commercial areas or cultural quarters that reinforce the identity, the appeal and the competitiveness of the city. Policies and practices that consider the regeneration of derelict areas and seafronts are at the top of local agendas with culture and leisure resources (cultural infrastructure, mega-events, tourist facilities, etc.) holding the key role. The main goal is the creation of new city images and environments that are attractive for residents, investors and visitors. Hence, these new policies have various spatial and economic effects, leading to prestigious waterfront developments, cultural clustering (e.g., Wit de Wittestraat in Rotterdam, Ladadika in Thessaloniki), increase of tourism, etc. On the other hand, regeneration projects affect the traditional spatial urban hierarchies and often lead to the displacement of activities and residents. So the main issue is how port cities can avoid the negative effects and in which way these strategies affect the economic and portal services. The paper intends to present the most important policy changes of the major Greek port cities and to evaluate the role of culture and leisure within these policies. Characteristic examples of European port cities redevelopments based on culture, such as the ones of Bilbao, Rotterdam and Hamburg, will be compared to the efforts of Greek port cities. Special emphasis will be given to the Cultural Capital of Europe event that has had a great impact on Thessaloniki (1997) and is expected to have a long term effect on Patras (2006). The main research questions that are being addressed are the following: Which are the spatial, economic, social and environmental effects of the new port city strategies and which role do the cultural resources hold? Is an effective cultural and leisure policy a panacea for port cities in order to adjust to the contemporary competition? How are Greek port cities responding to these new circumstances?
Next year (2007) is expected to be a milestone for the regional policy of Greece. For the first time since the EU launched the programmes which are co-funded by the Structural Funds, Greek regions ...are excluded from the Objective 1 “Convergence†programmes of the 2007-2013 programming period. Two regions, Sterea Ellada and Southern Aegean have been included in the phasing - in group of NUTS II regions which are falling under the new “Regional Competitiveness and Employment†objective since they have exceeded the 75% boundary of the GDP per capita of the EU both in relation with the older 15 and the 25 current member states. Hence, apart from the reduction funding compared to the current period, they are obliged to redefine their developmental priorities and to adjust the programming context according to the new circumstances in line with the Lisbon and Gothenburg objectives. Within this context the preparation calls for the adjustment to the new circumstances and the exploration of the most efficient way to continue and empower the developmental path. In addition to these, some important matters such as the actual developmental position of these regions, the sectors where cohesion hasn’t been achieved, the new challenges and the experience that has been gained and to what extent it is being used as a learning process have to be explored The article aims to contribute to the ongoing conversation regarding the ways by which Sterea Ellada and Southern Aegean regions can utilize the Structural Funds in the new programming period, based on their experience until today, but also on the possibilities which they are being offered as “phasing – in†regions of the “Competitiveness and Employment†objective according to the new context of regional policy. To these directions, the general outlines of the future perspectives of the regional priorities of the European Union will be presented initially, both for the current and the next programming period. A comparative description of the socio-economic position of the two regions within the European Union is given next, followed by a discussion of the current programming experience and some implementation issues and lessons learnt. Finally, suggestions and some policy priorities as well as the conclusions of the analysis will be presented.
PDF
