UK Local Authority Place Promotion: Changing Contexts and Changing Priorities

Introduction Even the most cursory review of the recent literature on urbanism reveals that place marketing and promotional activity have become essential tools in the drive of many cities to move beyond industrialism and to create new identities for themselves. Just as place promotion itself has burgeoned in the past two decades, the literature on the activity has also grown immensely. 1 It may seem superfluous, therefore, that the present article is added to this literature. However, it is clear that the context within which place promotion is taking place in the UK is constantly changing and, in particular, the response of local authorities to such a dynamic situation is of particular interest. It is in that spirit that the present article is offered.