Re branding Amman: a ‘lived’ city's values, image and identity

ABSTRACT By addressing two separate branding exercises for Amman, Jordan, 
we investigate the links between the city ’ s image and the visual image of its brand. 
We build on previous research by proposing a theoretical framework that combines 
city branding, Canter ’ s theory of place and Kevin Lynch ’ s
Image of the City
 . We 
test this theoretical framework by contrasting the development of Amman ’ s city 
brand in 2002 and its rebranding exercise in 2009. We address, fi rst, how Amman ’ s 
brand(s) and image(s) are linked, and second, how the city brand and its image 
infl uence and are infl uenced by the values Ammanis ascribe to their city. We fi nd 
that while it incorporated intensive promotional campaigns and place-making 
interventions, the 2002 branding exercise excluded the residents of Amman; the 
ensuing brand image therefore failed to correspond to the residents