City branding in polycentric urban regions: identification, profiling and transformation in the Randstad and Rhine-Ruhr

Figures & data

Figure 1. Randstad and the Rhine-Ruhr (approximated) in the European context (modifications by authors) (ESPON & BBSR, 2014).

Figure 2. The approximate position of the Randstad in the Netherlands (upper left) and the main cities comprising the Randstad (right) (Meijers, 2005).

Figure 3. North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany (lower left), the Rhine-Ruhr in NRW (upper left) and the Rhine-Ruhr with its main cities and district administrations (right) (Grier, 2002; Wikimedia, 2015) (modifications by the authors).

Table 1. Territorial identification in Randstad cities.

		Affiliation
City	Randstad	North Wing of the Randstad	Amsterdam Metropolitan Area	South Wing of the Randstad	Rotterdam–The Hague Metropolitan Area
Almere		+	+
Amersfoort	+
Amsterdam		+	+
Haarlem		+	+
Utrecht	+
Delft				+	+
Dordrecht				+
Leiden				+
Rotterdam				+	+
The Hague	+			+	+
Zoetermeer				+	+

Table 2. Territorial identification in Rhine-Ruhr cities.

City	Affiliation
	Rhine-Ruhr	Ruhr area	Rhine-axis/Rheinland	Bergisches Dreieck
Bochum		+
Bottrop		+
Dortmund		+
Duisburg		+	+
Essen		+
Gelsenkirchen		+
Hagen
Hamm		+
Herne		+
Mülheim		+
Oberhausen		+
Remscheid	+			+
Solingen				+
Wuppertal				+
Bonn			+
Cologne			+
Düsseldorf			+
Krefeld	+		+
Leverkusen			+
Mönchengladbach			+

Table 3. City branding in the Randstad.

City	Branding practice
Almere	Almere is an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable city. A growing city.
Amersfoort	City with heart. A vital, attractive and sustainable city.
Amsterdam	Economically strong and sustainable. Internationally competitive and sustainable city.
Haarlem	City with sustainable and good living environment, and cultural and touristic attractiveness.
Utrecht	Economically dynamic environment. Utrecht city of knowledge and culture. Healthy urban boost
Delft	Creating history. Technology, innovation, creativity and history. Creative knowledge city.
Dordrecht	Historical and modern service city. City in the Delta. City at the European corridors.
Leiden	Internationally oriented historical university and knowledge city.
Rotterdam	Attractive European city, intercultural metropolis. Mainport. World port and world city.
The Hague	World city at the Sea. Multicultural international city of peace and law. Governmental city.
Zoetermeer	Attractive, sustainable and complex city. Leisure city.

Table 4. City branding in the Rhine-Ruhr.

City	Branding and marketing
Bochum	Flourishing and lively city. Knowledge, Change, Identity. University City
Bottrop	Green city, Climate-protection and low-energy city.
Dortmund	Dynamic economic centre with focus on services and future technologies.
Duisburg	University city. Sport and health city.
Essen	Modern and leading economic, trading and service city. Green capital Europe 2017.
Gelsenkirchen	Gelsenkirchen is a city in change, a city with potential.
Hagen	-/-
Hamm	Rising city.
Herne	-/-
Mülheim	City at the river. Attractive city for living and successful business location.
Oberhausen	Modern major city.
Remscheid	Small city with flair.
Solingen	Blade Town.
Wuppertal	Green, greener Wuppertal. Greenest city in Germany.
Bonn	Federal city, international city, United Nations city, City of Beethoven. City at the Rhine
Cologne	Attractive shopping city, sport city, knowledge city, international metropolis, media city, city of literature, photography and film, cultural city.
Düsseldorf	Management, administration city, finance city, fashion, media and communication city, high-end shopping city, consulting city, sport city. International metropolis.
Krefeld	City like silk and satins, Lively major city with charm.
Leverkusen	Sport city. Young major city.
Mönchengladbach	A major green city without big city problems.

Table 5. Ecological modernization profiles of cities in the Randstad.

Category	Smart	Sustainable	Eco	Low-carbon	Knowledge	Green	Resilient	Liveable
City
Almere	+++	+++				+	+
Amersfoort		+++		+++	+	+++	+++	+
Amsterdam	+++	+++				+	+++
Haarlem		+++		++
Utrecht	+	+++		+	+++	+		+
Delft		+++			+++	++	++	++
Dordrecht		+++		+		+	+	++
Leiden		+++			+++	+	+	+
Rotterdam	+	+++		+++	++	++	+++	++
The Hague	+	+		+++		++	+
Zoetermeer		+++			+	++		+

Notes: The metrics were established according to the following principles: when the ecological modernization category was not mentioned in any of the investigated documents, a blank occurs. ‘+’ appearance of an ecological modernization category in one policy document (incl. city web pages), for example, ‘Amersfoort is a sustainable city’.

‘++’ appearance of an ecological modernization category in two policy documents (incl. city web pages), for example, ‘Amersfoort is a sustainable city’. ‘+++’ appearance of an ecological modernization category in more than two policy documents (incl. city web pages), for example, ‘Amersfoort is a sustainable city’; in a prominent place, such as the ambition/vision of a long-term city development plan or when clear branding intention is obvious, for example, ‘Amsterdam Smart City’, ‘Utrecht, city of knowledge’.

Table 6. Ecological modernization profiles of cities in the Rhine-Ruhr.

Category	Smart	Sustainable	Eco	Low-carbon	Knowledge	Green	Resilient	Liveable
City
Bochum					+++			+++
Bottrop		++		+++		+++	+	+++
Dortmund	+				+++	+		+++
Duisburg		+			+	+++		+++
Essen		+++			++	+++		+
Gelsenkirchen		+						+
Hagen				+
Hamm			+
Herne
Mülheim				+		+	+
Oberhausen		+						+++
Remscheid							+	++
Solingen						+
Wuppertal						+++		+++
Bonn		++			++
Cologne	+++			+	+		+	+++
Düsseldorf				++	+	+		+++
Krefeld								+
Leverkusen								+
Mönchengladbach						+++

Note: The metrics were established according to the same principles as for Table 5.

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