Ryan Short — author of the new book The Civic Brand, and founder of place-branding firm Civic Brand — joins the show this week for a discussion on how cities can more meaningfully define their brand. The term has been used and overused in almost every industry imaginable, and yet, Ryan argues the importance of the idea at its root. Particularly, for places.
Through this, we spend time on the lifecycle of a cliché, and how cities of various sizes can and should) go about avoiding becoming one.
The new book zooms in, and surveys places that have done the work around brand intentionally, across the states. It's a great starting spot for folks in and around local government, and citizens alike.
Timeline:
00:00 Ryan Short is in good traffic.
03:14 Cities at the tipping point with brand.
04:55 Why Ryan wrote The Civic Brand.
07:31 An Alaska project and triple bottom line.
09:37 Tourism vs. place management.
10:25 Listening to locals, not just departments.
12:00 Branding as a tool for equity and alignment.
13:18 Urbanism and marketing.
15:06 Walkable cities vs. livable cities.
17:15 Who the book is for — civic leaders to citizens.
19:17 Libraries, Dewey Decimal, and early feedback.
21:13 Marketing professionals and the shift toward destination management.
23:20 How local culture actually drives big decisions.
27:54 Power, culture, and the street-level brand.
29:18 Balancing capitalism, people, and place.
32:08 Density as environmentalism.
33:53 Realism over idealism.
34:38 When words lose meaning — “brand” and “place.”
38:06 “Keep Austin Weird” and what it really means.
39:09 Religion, symbols, and the depth of meaning.
41:35 Making “welcoming” real in the built environment.
43:28 Incongruities between vision and reality.
44:10 Brand as civic north star.
46:39 Why alignment matters.
47:32 How to start civic alignment locally.
49:18 Housing, universities, and shared goals.
52:16 “Civic alignment” as the real message.
52:54 The thesis chapter — start with Chapter 1.
53:36 Commute — living and walking in Salida, CO.
55:48 Wrapping up.
For context: