Martin de Jong (Erasmus University Rotterdam)

While advertising, marketing and branding have originally been developed in the corporate world, public organizations have not been impervious to their increasingly frequent use either. The past decade in particular has seen a tremendous growth in the adoption of the use of city labels, both internationally and in China. Given low environmental quality in many urban areas, these labels often refer to green, sustainable and smart growth agendas. Their attractiveness to visitors, residents and investors is beyond dispute, but do these really further the implementation of serious eco measures? And if so, under what conditions and how?