City form as a strategy for city branding: a comparative study of Kandy and Galle

Abstract

City branding concept is based on marketing the city’s history, culture, natural resources, architectural values, social opportunities and lifestyle. This research will investigate the impact of city form or the physical layout of a city as a city branding strategy with respect to two well-functioning cities; Kandy and Galle. Landscape architectural character is mainly expressed through the city form. The analysis was carried out through the experience of the residents, commuters and tourists of the city. The data was collected under two questionnaire surveys to determine the current brand of the city and to analyse the impact due to each of the selected city form elements landmarks, parks and streets. The positive and negative attributes of the selected spaces were further analysed to evaluate the extent of the impact. According to the findings, the impact generated by the landmarks were high when compared to the parks and streets. And the impact of city form was higher in Kandy than Galle. These findings emphasize the factors which affect the different levels of impact from the city form to the development, establishment and endurance of a city brand.