A Tale of Two Re-branded Cities: Riga, Latvia and Aarhus, Denmark

This study shows how Riga and Arhus identified, formulated and communicated city re-branding. Our analysis concentrates on resident responses to city re-branding and how such responses could force the municipalities to withdraw their re-branding.A city loses its identity if it is globalized. In the Riga and Aarhus cases, the municipalities tried to find a global voice, which contradicted local traditions; and in both cases, the redefinition of city image took place top-down and not bottom-up. The two cases may not prove to be a golden rule, but should be a warning against rash city re-branding decisions made by municipalities.