From Place Identity to the Identity of a Place: Place Branding practices against the contemporary Urban Challenges of Venice

Abstract

The urban challenges that the City of Venice has to face are complex and interrelated. The overabundance of tourism creates imbalances in the city centre, in the natural ecosystem of the Lagoon, and in the relationship between the renowned historical centre and its counterpart on the mainland. The city appears divided in two halves, one in the water and one on the land, separated but bound to each other. In this thesis, the issues of overtourism, depopulation and environmental fragility of Venice have been reframed in terms of the concepts of place and identity to offer a better understanding of the present and future of the City of Venice. The sociological theory of frontstage-backstage proposed by Goffman was utilised in concomitance with the framework of place identity introduced by Relph and the concept of the non-place by French anthropologist Marc Augé. Considering this toolbox, the problems of Venice and Mestre on the mainland cannot be solved without a multi-stakeholder approach aimed at consulting the voices of the residents. Interviews with creative personalities of Venice were collected to understand the internal point of view that is key for the development of the creative city. Co-creation will be the key for the new place branding of the city centre and the creative placemaking in Mestre, to allow both halves to have a role on the stage of Venice.