Unruly Urban Brands: How Informal Image-Makers Are Reshaping Post-Industrial Detroit and Newcastle Laura Crommelin A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Built Environment June 2015 CONTENTS FIGURES 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 6 ORIGINALITY STATEMENT 7 1 INTRODUCTION 8 1.1 THE RESEARCH PROBLEM: A MISMATCH BETWEEN POST-INDUSTRIAL URBAN REIMAGING AND PLACE BRANDING THEORY 9 1.2 THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS: HOW IS IMAGE-MAKING OCCURRING AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT? 11 1.3 CHOICE OF CASE STUDIES: DETROIT AND NEWCASTLE 12 1.4 THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE: BRINGING TOGETHER BRANDING AND DIY URBANISM 14 1.5 THE METHOD: NARRATIVE CASE STUDIES 16 1.6 THE STRUCTURE: OUTLINE OF THE THESIS 17 1.7 THE CONTRIBUTION: THE ACADEMIC AND PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 18 2 FROM BOOSTERS TO BRANDING: EXAMINING URBAN REIMAGING PRACTICES IN THE LITERATURE 19 2.1 REIMAGING IN CONTEXT: THE RISE OF URBAN ENTREPRENEURIAL GOVERNANCE 20 2.2 DEFINING URBAN BRANDING IN THE LITERATURE 24 2.2.1 PLACE SELLING/BOOSTERISM 26 2.2.2 CITY MARKETING 27 2.2.3 URBAN BRANDING 28 2.3 EXAMINING THE PRACTICE OF URBAN BRANDING 32 2.3.1 CATEGORIES OF BRANDING PRACTICE 32 2.3.2 PRACTITIONER MODELS 35 2.4 IDENTIFYING THE AUDIENCE FOR PLACE BRANDING 37 2.4.1 TARGETING THE CREATIVE CLASS 37 2.4.2 TARGETING LOCALS TO FACILITATE REDEVELOPMENT 39 2.5 CRITIQUES OF PLACE BRANDING 40 2.5.1 CONCERNS ABOUT EFFECTIVENESS 40 2.5.2 CONCERNS ABOUT IMPACT 43 2.6 BROADENING THE PERSPECTIVE: FROM URBAN BRANDING TO URBAN REIMAGING 46 2.7 CONCLUSION 48 3 BEYOND THE BRAND: REIMAGING INSIGHTS FROM URBAN THEORY 51 3.1 INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING IN THE DIY CITY 52 Page 1 of 317 3.2 POST-INDUSTRIAL PLACE-MAKING: HOW PLACE SHAPES INFORMAL REIMAGING 59 3.2.1 FROM PLACE TO PLACE ATTACHMENT 59 3.2.2 CONSTRUCTIONS OF PLACE IN A GLOBALISING WORLD 62 3.3 ONLINE AND OFFLINE: HOW NETWORKS ENABLE INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING 66 3.3.1 ONLINE NETWORKS—THE RISE OF WEB 2.0 66 3.3.2 OFFLINE NETWORKS—NETWORKS SHAPE URBAN LIFE 68 3.4 CONCLUSION 71 4 METHODOLOGIES: CASE STUDIES AND NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 73 4.1 WHY CHOOSE A CASE-STUDY APPROACH? 73 4.2 HOW THE CASE STUDIES WERE CHOSEN AND DEVELOPED 76 4.2.1 WHY WERE DETROIT AND NEWCASTLE SELECTED? 76 4.2.2 HOW WERE THE CHOSEN INTERVIEWEES SELECTED AND INTERVIEWED? 78 4.2.3 HOW WERE MAINSTREAM AND SOCIAL MEDIA SOURCES CHOSEN? 82 4.2.4 WHAT OTHER CASE-STUDY RESOURCES WERE USED? 82 4.3 HOW WERE THE COLLECTED DATA ANALYSED? 83 4.3.1 A BRIEF BACKGROUND TO NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 84 4.3.2 NARRATIVE ANALYSIS IN PRACTICE 87 4.3.3 NARRATIVE ANALYSIS IN THIS RESEARCH 90 4.4 HOW ARE THE CASE STUDIES STRUCTURED? 91 4.5 CONCLUSION 92 5 NEWCASTLE CASE STUDY 93 5.1 WHERE: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF NEWCASTLE AND ITS IMAGE 93 5.1.1 NEWCASTLE IN A NUTSHELL: HISTORY AND KEY CHARACTERISTICS 94 5.1.2 A NEW NEWCASTLE AT LAST? 95 5.2 WHO: NEWCASTLE’S FORMAL AND INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKERS 97 5.2.1 OFFICIAL REIMAGING: THE BRAND NEWCASTLE CAMPAIGN 97 5.2.2 INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING 100 5.3 HOW: EXPLORING STRATEGIES FOR REIMAGING NEWCASTLE 104 5.3.1 FORMAL IMAGE-MAKING: FROM THE TOP DOWN, THE BRAND INSPIRES CHANGE 104 5.3.2 INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING: THROUGH NETWORKING, CHANGE SHAPES THE BRAND 110 5.4 WHAT: DISSECTING NEWCASTLE’S REIMAGING NARRATIVES 121 5.4.1 NEWCASTLE AS A POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY 121 5.4.2 NEWCASTLE AS A CITY OF OPPORTUNITY 128 5.5 WHY: DECIPHERING THE MOTIVATIONS FOR NEWCASTLE’S REIMAGING 131 5.6 REVIEWING REACTIONS TO THE REIMAGING OF NEWCASTLE 134 5.6.1 RESPONSES TO THE OFFICIAL BRAND 134 5.6.2 RESPONSES TO INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING 139 5.7 CONCLUSION 144 6 DETROIT CASE STUDY 146 Page 2 of 317 6.1 WHERE: A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF DETROIT AND ITS IMAGE 146 6.1.1 THE DATA ON DETROIT: HISTORY AND KEY CHARACTERISTICS 147 6.1.2 DECONSTRUCTING DETROIT’S IMAGE 149 6.2 WHO: THE REIMAGING OF DETROIT TAKES MANY FORMS 152 6.2.1 OPPORTUNITY DETROIT 154 6.2.2 DETROIT—I’M A BELIEVER! CAMPAIGN 155 6.2.3 CHRYSLER’S IMPORTED FROM DETROIT CAMPAIGN 156 6.2.4 DETROIT METRO CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU 157 6.2.5 DOWNTOWN DETROIT PARTNERSHIP 157 6.2.6 D:HIVE 158 6.2.7 DETROIT REGIONAL NEWS HUB 159 6.2.8 MODEL D MEDIA AND THE URBAN INNOVATION EXCHANGE 159 6.2.9 DETROIT LIVES! 160 6.2.10 I AM YOUNG DETROIT 161 6.2.11 DECLARE DETROIT 162 6.2.12 DETROIT-THEMED RETAIL 163 6.2.13 BLOGS 164 6.3 HOW: EXPLORING STRATEGIES FOR REIMAGING DETROIT 165 6.3.1 CITY, SUBURBS, NATION, WORLD? LOCAL AND EXTERNAL IMAGE-MAKING IN DETROIT 166 6.3.2 LINKING LARGE AND SMALL: THE IMAGE-MAKING NETWORKS OF DETROIT 170 6.4 WHAT: DISSECTING DETROIT’S REIMAGING NARRATIVES 176 6.4.1 DETROIT AS A CITY OF OPPORTUNITY 177 6.4.2 DETROIT AS A POST-INDUSTRIAL CITY 181 6.4.3 DETROIT—DIY CITY, BUT NOT FOR EVERYBODY 189 6.5 WHY: EXPLORING MOTIVATIONS FOR DETROIT’S REIMAGING 197 6.6 REVIEWING REACTIONS TO THE REIMAGING OF DETROIT 202 6.7 CONCLUSION 209 7 ANALYSIS: EXPLORING THE SIGNIFICANCE OF INFORMAL REIMAGING 211 7.1 INSIGHTS FOR INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKERS 212 7.1.1 INSPIRATION FOR INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKERS: DIY OR CIY (COPY-IT-YOURSELF)? 212 7.1.2 EXAMINING THE AUDIENCE FOR INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING 214 7.1.3 DECONSTRUCTING THE SHARED NARRATIVE THEMES OF INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING 218 7.2 INSIGHTS FOR RESIDENTS OF NEWCASTLE AND DETROIT 222 7.2.1 INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING, URBAN REDEVELOPMENT AND GENTRIFICATION 223 7.2.2 TAKING RESPONSIBILITY: INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKERS, FUNDERS, MEDIA-MAKERS, OR OBSERVERS? 231 7.2.3 EXPLORING THE POSSIBLE FUTURES FOR LOCAL RESIDENTS 235 7.3 INSIGHTS FOR RESEARCH: NETWORKS, NARRATIVES AND A NEW BREED OF URBAN IMAGE-MAKERS 239 7.3.1 A DIFFERENT BREED: WHY ENGAGE WITH INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKING? 240 7.3.2 A DIFFERENT MODEL: HOW MIGHT NETWORK ANALYSIS BENEFIT REIMAGING RESEARCH? 243 7.3.3 A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE: INSIGHTS FOR REIMAGING RESEARCH FROM NARRATIVE ANALYSIS 245 Page 3 of 317 7.4 CONCLUSION 249 8 CONCLUSION 250 8.1 HOW IS IMAGE-MAKING OCCURRING IN DETROIT AND NEWCASTLE? 251 8.2 HOW IS REIMAGING IN THESE CITIES DIFFERENT FROM THE LITERATURE? 252 8.3 BROADER SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH 254 8.4 LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH 258 8.5 AVENUES FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 259 8.6 A FINAL THOUGHT 260 REFERENCES 261 ACADEMIC REFERENCES 261 CASE-STUDY REFERENCES 281 APPENDIX 1: EMAIL TO POTENTIAL PARTICIPANTS 306 APPENDIX 2: PROJECT INFORMATION STATEMENT 308 APPENDIX 3: PROJECT CONSENT FORM 310 APPENDIX 4: HUMAN RESEARCH ETHICS APPROVAL FORMS 312 APPENDIX 5: LIST OF INITIAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 316 Page 4 of 317 FIGURES FIGURE 2.1: TYPOLOGY OF PLACE PROMOTION METHODS ................................................................................ 25 FIGURE 4.1: TABLE OF QUOTED RESEARCH PARTICIPANTS ................................................................................ 81 FIGURE 5.1 MAP OF NEWCASTLE LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA. SOURCE: WWW.ELECTIONS.NSW.GOV.AU .................. 94 FIGURE 5.2 NEWCASTLE CBD SHOWING HUNTER STREET. SOURCE: WWW.OPENSTREETMAP.ORG ........................... 95 FIGURE 5.3: NEWCASTLE BRAND WHEEL. SOURCE: HTTP://SEECHANGE.VISITNEWCASTLE.COM.AU .......................... 98 FIGURE 5.4: BRAND NEWCASTLE LOGO. SOURCE: HTTP://SEECHANGE.VISITNEWCASTLE.COM.AU ............................ 98 FIGURE 5.5: SIGNAGE USING THE BRAND NEWCASTLE LOGO IN WHEELER PLACE, NEWCASTLE. SOURCE: AUTHOR. ..... 99 FIGURE 5.6: RENEW NEWCASTLE MAP. SOURCE: WWW.RENEWNEWCASTLE.ORG ............................................... 100 FIGURE 5.7 STREET ART WALKING MURAL IN NEWCASTLE. SOURCE: AUTHOR ................................................... 102 FIGURE 5.8: NEWCASTLE NOW LOGO. SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.NEWCASTLENOW.ORG.AU/ .................................. 103 FIGURE 5.9: NEWCASTLE DESTINATION MANAGEMENT PLAN 2013. SOURCE: NTIG 2013. ................................. 108 FIGURE 5.10: SCENES FROM RENEW’S WINTER WANDER TOUR, JULY 2013. SOURCE: AUTHOR. .......................... 117 FIGURE 5.11: NEWCASTLE NOW FLAGS, HUNTER STREET MALL. SOURCE: AUTHOR ............................................ 137 FIGURE 6.1 MAP OF CITY OF DETROIT’S BOUNDARIES. SOURCE: WWW.OPENSTREETMAP.ORG .............................. 147 FIGURE 6.2: DEMOGRAPHIC MAP OF METRO DETROIT. SOURCE: HTTP://WWW.COOPERCENTER.ORG/DEMOGRAPHICS/RACIAL-DOT-MAP ................................................. 148 FIGURE 6.3 MAP OF GREATER DOWNTOWN DETROIT. SOURCE: WWW.DETROITSEVENPOINTTWO.COM .................. 149 FIGURE 6.4 LIST OF REPRESENTATIVE SELECTION OF DETROIT INFORMAL IMAGE-MAKERS .................................... 153 FIGURE 6.5: OPPORTUNITY DETROIT BANNERS ON WOODWARD AVENUE, DETROIT. SOURCE: AUTHOR .................. 155 FIGURE 6.6: DETROIT—I’M A BELIEVER! ADVERTISEMENT WITH FORMER MAYOR DAVE BING. SOURCE: HERMANOFF 2011............................................................................................................................................ 156 FIGURE 6.7: NEIGHBORHOOD INNOVATION PANEL HOSTED BY MODEL D AND UIX, 2013. SOURCE: AUTHOR. ........ 160 FIGURE 6.8: DETROIT LIVES! MURAL NEAR EASTERN MARKET, DETROIT. SOURCE: AUTHOR. ................................ 161 FIGURE 6.9: PURE DETROIT STORE, DOWNTOWN DETROIT. SOURCE: AUTHOR ................................................... 164 FIGURE 6.10: PART OF THE HEIDELBERG PROJECT AND D:HIVE’S ‘CONNECTING THE DOTS’ DISPLAY. SOURCE: AUTHOR. .................................................................................................................................................... 171 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I am indebted to many people, all of whom deserve more gratitude than can be adequately expressed here. I hope a humble bullet point will suffice for now. My thanks go to: • The Novocastrians and Detroiters who participated