Outlining a feminist ethics of sustainable place branding

Aims
It is increasingly argued that place branding is an important element in sustainable urban development (e.g. Therkelsen et al., 2021; Taecharungroj et al., 2019). However, there are still unresolved ethical difficulties connected to the relation between sustainable development goals and place branding strategy. For example, a typical ethical dilemma arising at the nexus of sustainable development and place branding concerns the reconciliation of the promotion and commodification of places and making them into ecological and social just habitats. In order to approach such dilemmas, this paper proposes a feminist ethics to sustainable place branding that go beyond the idea of autonomy of place brands, and towards the recognition of inherent interdependency between places, people, and brands.

Theoretical framework
This research builds on previous critical interventions in the field that has demonstrated that place branding is not an ethically neutral practice, but has political and normative consequences in its application (e.g. Sevin, 2011; Kavaratzis et al., 2017). The theoretical argument is informed by Butler’s (2020) recent work on feminist ethics of non-violence in order to shift focus from sustainable place branding as an autonomous practice to the complex relational constitution of place branding, sustainability, and society.

Main research approach
The study advances a conceptual argument with empirical illustrations of sustainable place branding in cities.

Key arguments/findings
In the analysis, typical views on ethics and ethical dilemmas identified in place branding research are discussed in relation to three key premises underpinning the feminist ethics approach: relationality, embodiment, and vulnerability. Taken together we argue that these premises help us to formulate an ethics for sustainable place branding that celebrate unavoidable interdependency and moral equality.

Conclusions
The paper concludes that a robust ethical notion of sustainable place branding passes
through the acknowledgment of the unavoidable geographical, political, social, and
ecological bonds between place brands, and an honorability of the moral obligations that such interdependency entails.

Practical implications
The ethics approach outlined in this paper is able to inform policy and practice of achieving ecological and social justice in places as part of their commitment to the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

References
Butler, J. (2020). The force of nonviolence: An ethico-political bind. New York: Verso.
Kavaratzis, M., Giovanardi, M., & Lichrou, M. (Eds.). (2017). Inclusive place branding:
Critical perspectives on theory and practice. London: Routledge.
Sevin, E. (2011). Thinking about place branding: Ethics of concept. Place Branding and
Public Diplomacy, 7(3), 155-164.
Taecharungroj, V., Muthuta, M., and Boonchaiyapruek, P. (2019). Sustainability as a place brand position: a resident-centric analysis of the ten towns in the vicinity of
Bangkok. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 15(4), 210-228.
Therkelsen, A., James, L., and Halkier, H. (2021). Sustainable Development Goals in Place Branding: Developing a Research Agenda. In D. Medway, G. Warnaby, & J. Byrom
(Eds.), A Research Agenda for Place Branding, 319-337, Cheltenham: Edward Elgar
Publishing.