Urban image change over two decades

Comparing the images of six British urban areas 20 years apart

Bibliographic Data

ID6419023
AuthorsAndrew Bradley (0000-0002-2483-2827), Tim Hall (0000-0003-1755-4889)
Year2025
Volume162
Pages105942-105942
Publication date2025-04-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCities (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0264-2751 • E-ISSN: 1873-6084
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.cities.2025.105942
OpenAlexW4409285028
LanguageEN
References cited81

This paper addresses a significant lacuna in the literature of urban image by examining urban image change for multiple towns and cities over a period of two decades. It revisits and repeats a survey of UK conference and events organisers from 2000 that explored the images they hold of six British towns and cities that had all positioned themselves as key venues for business and leisure tourism meetings, events and conferences. It found both continuities and changes in the images of the towns and cities examined across this time period. Whilst the images of some towns and cities had changed significantly, others had changed very little. Further, the ways in which this audience collectively talked about these urban areas had changed little over this time. The results show that, across an extended time period, significant change in the images of urban areas can occur but that it is not inevitable. The results point to the significance of individual circumstances rather than general processes of urban image change. Our results also reveal the significance of ongoing personal experiences of cities to the processes of urban image formation and change amongst this audience

Economic geography · Geography · Regional science · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Land Use and Ecosystem Services · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts

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