'The Civic Brand' Book Review by Susan Crook

Originally published in the Sun River Neighbors Magazine

Branding invokes images of cattle drives and roundups. For Ryan Short, it means "The Power & Responsibility of Place," the subtitle of his book, The Civic Brand. In it, he explores the meaning of place and how to rediscover what makes each place special through real public engagement.

Short explains that branding is more than a clever tagline or a memorable logo. "Cities can't just be managed from the top down," he says. "Healthy cities require civic pride and engagement from residents and local businesses. When people feel a strong connection to their place, they invest in it and care for it."

The Civic Brand summarizes the consulting process Short developed while working with cities over the past seventeen years on branding and the power of place. "My goal is to help every place rediscover its identity and develop an authentic shared vision and brand story that brings it to life and guides it to a prosperous future."

This is a how-to manual for citizens, civic leaders, and elected officials. It is organized into four parts: 1) The Power of Place, 2) Anatomy of a Brand, 3) Public Engagement, and 4) Brand in Action.

Short explains how to go beyond pro forma public commenting to real community engagement guided by a triple line of people, profit, and planet. In Chapter 1, he provides a lengthy manifesto on what a civic brand is and why it matters, then expands on each point in subsequent sections and chapters.

Throughout the book, Short provides examples from the communities he has consulted with over the years to illustrate the talking points from his civic brand manifesto. He distinguishes between place branding and place marketing. Someone may look at a struggling downtown and immediately propose things that have worked elsewhere: a mural, seating, festive lighting. Instead, he advocates spending time listening, engaging, and researching to find out what is unique about this place and its people before designing anything.

In Chapter 6: People, Profit, Place, the author asks if a destination marketing campaign that's tasked with attracting visitors is a success if it does just that. His answer? "Not if it's at the cost of its local people, its environment, its sustainability and its culture." Community leaders need to meet people where they are, not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically. In a lower-income neighborhood, they offered grocery store customers five dollars for five minutes of their time to literally reach them where they were.

While driving through a neighborhood with city officials, Short saw a woman pushing a grocery-bag-laden baby stroller up a street in 100-degree heat because there was no sidewalk. Some needs are so obvious they don't need studies; just action.

Ryan Short was so taken by this quote from the legendary Jane Jacobs that he made it the mission of his company: "Cities have the capability of providing something for everybody, only because, and only when, they are created by everybody."

Retired Historical Landscape Architect Susan Crook has traded blueprints for books. You can find her working part-time at The Book Bungalow, where she also leads the popular Mystery/Thriller Book Club.