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The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the academic debate on participatory urban development in two ways: first, by proposing a methodological framework though which urban policies can be assessed; and second, through a case study that applies the framework, delivering an analysis of the policy intentions of the current Berlin administration.

The first section of this paper introduces the case study, placing it in the political context in Berlin and suggesting an initial reading of the relevant documents that frame policy in participatory urban development today. The second section includes an attempt at disambiguation, a conceptual and an analytical framework, followed by a preliminary assessment of the Berlin participatory policy. The final part of this paper draws conclusions and sets a possible future research agenda.

Participation is present in several passages of the Contract and refers to different possible readings of the term: participation as institutional framework, participation as rights, participation in the public sphere and participation as practice.

This paper contributes to the disambiguation of the concept of “citizen participation”, proposes a framework through which to assess policy and offers an initial analysis of the policy intentions of the current Berlin administration.

This paper aims to reflect upon a recent study trip to Berlin to offer some conclusions about similarities and differences in approaches to place management.

The authors start with a short overview of the visits made to City West (a shopping district), Bikini Berlin (a shopping centre), Visit Berlin (a destination management organisation), Leopoldplatz (a public square), Brunnenstrasse and Bayerischer Platz Quartier (both neighbourhoods), Markthalle IX (a covered market) and Prinzessinnengarten (an urban garden) before identifying some key lessons learnt.

The eight visits made as part of the study trip offered a brief but diverse insight into how different areas and functions of the city were managed, maintained, developed and promoted. Key lessons learnt and identified in the paper are as follows. Place management, as a practice, consists of people with passion working in partnership within the context of a place “patch”. Place management is practiced somewhere, and that somewhere has its own political, legal, economic, technological and social environment. People learn more about places in places. Place management is more akin to gardening than architecture.

The conclusions drawn in this paper are based, predominantly, upon the observations of the study trip facilitators, along with some comments and feedback from the delegates.

Place managers can and should learn from each other. Other places and people can be a source of inspiration – not necessarily providing a readily transferable solution (as the legal or political environments may not be conducive to carbon-copy interventions) – but offering alternative perspectives and approaches which can then be contextualised and adapted locally.

Enlarging the pool of information and evidence from which practitioners can draw from when solving place problems can ultimately lead to places that are more successful, liveable and equitable.

Many place managers are volunteers or may not have access to a professional development budget. The authors hope that this paper can help to share the reflections of one study tour with a much wider audience.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, it is to contribute to a sound conceptualization of the notion of place identity in the context of geographical spatial approaches; on the other, it is to show the implications this has in place branding research.

First, the paper draws from place branding literature to point out the lack of a conceptualization of place identity, second, it presents the case study of Prenzlauer Berg to show how place identity is constituted. Finally, these findings are linked to literature about the constitution of space and place.

The concept of spatial identity suffers under the anthropomorphism of the term identity. Only in a sound conceptual framework and through a method mix it is possible to understand how the specificity of space is constituted.

The case study that is the base of this conceptual paper is a neighbourhood. There is a need to further discuss the issue of scale, i.e. whether the same rules apply for cities, regions or nations.

Place branding/marketing is often based on a fuzzy notion of place identity. The above non‐essentialist approach of this identity deeply questions both the legitimacy and the efficiency of any place branding strategy. It thus asks for more sophisticated analytical methods by policy makers and consultants alike.

Conceptualization of spatial identity is a rather vague concept and, though it is often used as a point of departure for several issues, it is usually taken for granted. This paper offers a new systematic approach to the disambiguation of the concept.

The purpose of this paper is to bring together theory and practice of place branding/marketing from a practitioner's point of view. It is a critical assessment of the recent place marketing strategy for the city of Bogotá, Colombia.

The paper is based on a case study, that of the place marketing strategy for Bogotá. After a description of the initial task for city officials and the consultant, the paper presents the process of designing the strategy, focusing on citizen participation. It describes the inherent difficulties and tensions of any similar task and the practical compromises that had to be reached. Finally these findings are discussed again in a theoretical context, integrating place branding with other planning and positioning measures.

Place branding can indeed be a useful tool for place development, if it is understood as one possible tool of policy making and is incorporated in a broader conceptualization of the relationship among places, not limited to competition alone.

The paper's main position is that place branding is legitimate when there is a gap between a place's reality and perception. Understanding place branding as one possible tool for the development and positioning of places, means that practitioners and academics alike will have to rethink how to integrate it more effectively into existing policy making. Finally it shows both the importance and limitations of participatory processes.

The paper is a critical assessment of the experience of a practitioner linked with theoretical and methodological consideration; it tries to fill the gap between theoretical considerations and constrains of the profession.