Urban Planning
zohreh asadi; Hamid Mohammadi
Abstract
Highlights
Brand can create a coordinating role among many economic and social activities and be attractive to all tourism stakeholders.
Strategic orientation to focus the activities of all stakeholders in order to achieve a common end goal.
Helping cities to attract skilled population, attract ...
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Highlights
Brand can create a coordinating role among many economic and social activities and be attractive to all tourism stakeholders.
Strategic orientation to focus the activities of all stakeholders in order to achieve a common end goal.
Helping cities to attract skilled population, attract tourists and investors by relying on competitive advantages and identity
Urban branding is a process that helps cities increase the sense of belonging and satisfaction of current citizens.
the Use the capabilities of destinations to create creative attractions to attract tourists
Introduction
In the past few decades, branding has attracted plenty of attention in tourism planning. In globally competitive markets, the need of destinations to create a unique identity, that is, to differentiate themselves from competitors, has become more vital than ever. Tourism destination branding is a relatively new strategy in attraction of tourists because the brand gives the tourism destination identity and personality, and distinguishes it from other tourist destinations. According to the above, this study sought to address the role of the brand in the development of creative tourism and to help identify the city of Junqan, Iran as a brand using the city brand management (CBM) model. The research also attempted to specify the role and position of urban branding in the identification of the tourism in this city in terms of creativity.
Theoretical Framework
- Branding and urban branding
A brand is a rich source of emotional communication and cognition that leads to memorable experiences of a place such as a city. Urban branding is a relatively new concept that cities have adopted to differentiate themselves from other cities, to develop civic pride among their citizens, and to help tourists and business owners make decisions. Branding a city requires recognition of and information on the believable and realistic features of the city. That includes the historical, social, political, and international identity of the city, how it functions economically, and its amenities. Urban branding has turned into an essential topic in the field of tourism and a main factor affecting the tourism industry. Successful branding for cities and urban tourism destinations is based on their potentials and talents, so that the possibility of replacing it with other destinations is excluded.
- Creative tourism
Creative tourism means to travel to an original, exciting experience and to learn art, get to know the heritage or special features of the place, and establish a relationship between tourists and locals. A creative tourist develops their creativity capacity by approaching locals through informal participation in interactive workshops and learning the experiences that the destination culture plots for their vacation. In creative tourism, tourists engage in the cultural prospects of the destination, so that they can participate in various creative activities including agriculture, art, cooking, dance, and music. That creates new opportunities to learn new skills and establish closer relationships between tourists and locals and their cultural heritage.
Methodology
In the present applied, development-oriented research, a theoretical framework was first presented for the field of urban branding and creative tourism, and the role of urban branding in tourism was expressed using the methods of descriptive and library research for data collection. Then, the key factors influencing the generation of an image of Junqan and identification of its brand for development of creative tourism were studied using the city brand management model (CBM), the library method, and semi-structured interviews with urban and tourism experts. The interpretive analysis method was also used for analysis of the interviews.
Results and Discussion
The purpose of branding in tourism is to create and maintain a favorable image of the destination, increase tourists’ awareness, create positive attitudes toward the destination, and modify tourists’ behavior of visiting the destination. In addition to its positive economic aspects, the development of tourism in Iran can lead to a rapprochement between people of different nationalities. The study attempted to create a brand and manage it for the city of Junqan by examining the concepts of brand, urban brand, and creative tourism using the urban brand management model. The brand can help the city to enhance each of the indicators of creativity, leading to the development of creative tourism. The findings demonstrated that Sardar Asad Bakhtiari Castle was identified as the brand of the city of Junqan. For development of creative tourism aided by the city brand, a tourism route was provided that combined the historical and natural sights of the city to create innovative products and attract entrepreneurs who would find competitive advantages over other destinations. This could reflect the reputation and vision of the city around the world and support and guide creativity in the city, leading to the promotion of tourism, exports, and investment in the city.
Conclusion
We are currently facing the changing needs of tourists around the world, looking for new experiences and seeking to discover their talents. Urban branding is a strategy adopted to add a competitive advantage by providing a clear picture, cultural and political importance, and economic and social development. The main purpose of the discussion was to generate greater appeal for investment and to attract tourists and potential residents with an emphasis on community development and reconstruction of local identity in Junqan. Therefore, the achievement of the research could be addressed in terms of the dimensions of creative tourism. In the field of cultural development and measures, we attempted in this research to introduce, develop, and apply the people’s traditions, customs, and clothing, arts, and handicrafts and to introduce the way of life and interactions of the civil society in order to provide the requirements of tourism in Junqan. Moreover, with today’s development of technology and the information society, the need to employ talented native specialists having graduated in urban management is felt more than ever before. The development of public spaces to increase interactions and establish exhibitions is another infrastructure needed in the city of Junqan, which is in line with the development of creative tourism. Each of the above factors can be important and helpful both in the management and in the economy of the city, so they can be considered in line with the role of the brand in the development of creativity in tourism in Junqan.
Acknowledgment
This article has been extracted from a Master’s thesis in the field of Urban Planning entitled Explaining the Role of Urban Branding in Promotion of Creative Tourism: The Case of the City of Junqan, defended by the first author under the supervision of the second author at Yazd University.
Regional Planning
Hamid Mohammadi; Vahid Moshfeghi
Abstract
It is necessary to consider external interactions of cities, their importance and the role of each type of communication to analyze urban systems. Thus, an accurate understanding of the nature of space and the forces shaping it as well as identification of the form of space organization in the regional ...
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It is necessary to consider external interactions of cities, their importance and the role of each type of communication to analyze urban systems. Thus, an accurate understanding of the nature of space and the forces shaping it as well as identification of the form of space organization in the regional level requires identification of several types of interactions among cities. Besides, the importance of nodes at the regional level, such as an urban network, presents forms of space organization in correspondence with the levels of the urban hierarchy.On the one hand, cities are categorized in proportion to their connectivity and power based on different flows of people, goods, capital and information. On the other hand, practical projects focus mostly on ranking settlements based on population, capacity and level of services.The authors believe there are two main reasons why researchers have paid less attention to the urban network analysis in Iran. First, lack of inter-city and intra-city flow data and, second, absence of a comprehensive model to consider different types of linkages among cities.This article aims to present an optimum pattern of urban network analysis according to available data in Iran including economic, political and physical data, as well as the data related to services including tourism and recreation, transportation, health, education, etc.This paper examined the hierarchy of functional communications among cities in Fars province located in south of Iran. It aims to answer the following questions:1. How is the hierarchical pattern of functional communications in Fars province?2. Which centers and what types of communications are more important to achieve a balanced regional development model?In terms of methodology, this study is a positivist research. The research method is applied and developmental and the quantitative methods are used to assess the hierarchy of urban communications in Fars province. The data is collected through documentary and library studies.Assessment of the urban communication pattern of Fars province shows a partially mono-central clustered structure in the province. Shiraz is the dominant central place of the examined network. This is due to the concentration of population, economic, social and cultural potentials and powerful physical relationships with other cities. Marvdasht, Firoozabad, Fasa, Jahrom and Lar are the most powerful and multi-functional cities to modify the spatial structure of the province. These cities were ranked as secondary centers in the system of the city to play their roles. It should be noted that Marvdasht is the second most populated city in Fras province. In the light of its vacinity to Shiraz, Marvdasht has less superior services. Thus, Marvdasht is described as a low potential city to become a secondary center. Jahrom and Lar are located in the southern half of the province. These cities are considered to be at the second level of the hierarchy of cities in Fars. On the other hand, results show that lack of important functional centers is the most important problem in Fars spatial organization, especially in western and eastern areas of the province. Finally, in an overall view, the results show that distribution of services plays an important role in the hierarchy of urban system and that the demographic dependence is mainly affected by communication and service structures.
