Like a random encounter on the street, sometimes disparate ideas converge in interesting ways. Today, Kentucky Mist Moonshine and the Project for Public Spaces shed some light on municipal branding.
"Every day, social media serves up a seemingly endless stream of content. Raw information, with each item typically reflecting the priorities of its respective poster. If you’ve assembled good curators among your friends and contacts, it adds up to a lot of interesting stuff. But the real interest, at least for me, is when you stumble into curious intersections that seem to exist between disparate content."
"This happened recently with this article from the New York Times detailing a skirmish of sorts between 'poor mountain entrepreneur' Colin Fultz, a start-up distiller of gourmet moonshine, and the University of Kentucky. Fultz’s signature product is called 'Kentucky Mist' and the University considers his promotional merchandise like shirts and hats to be a violation of their trademarked rights to the word 'Kentucky.'"
Scott Doyon goes on to discuss how Kentucky moonshine and college basketball converged to help him understand why city branding efforts always seem to fall flat. It has a lot to do with complexity and PPS's Power of 10:
Source: PPS. Click through for larger view.
FULL STORY: Moonshine, Basketball, and the Power of Place
Does Branding Play a Role in Redevelopment?
One Denver neighborhood’s massive redevelopment project includes a branding element. Is it necessary?
Placemaking for Place Marketing
Looking to boost awareness of the special charms of your unique city? Look for chances to leverage placemaking when place marketing.
Private Branding of the Public City
Oracle Park, the Blue Shield of California Theater, Ford GoBike—branding abounds in San Francisco.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
City Nature Challenge: Explore, Document, and Protect Urban Biodiversity
The City Nature Challenge is a global community science event where participants use the iNaturalist app to document urban biodiversity, contributing valuable data to support conservation and scientific research.
A Lone Voice for Climate: How The Wild Robot Stands Apart in Hollywood
Among this year’s Oscar-nominated films, only The Wild Robot passed the Climate Reality Check, a test measuring climate change representation in storytelling, highlighting the ongoing lack of climate awareness in mainstream Hollywood films.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research