Green Branding 101 for Cities

Although the word sustainability is somewhat ubiquitous in the planning vocabulary of cities these days, certain places seem to come up again and again as beacons of successful green urbanism. There are, of course, the usual suspects: Portland, Curitiba, Vancouver, and many Scandinavian cities such as Copenhagen. Why are some cities so successful at branding themselves as eco-visionaries while the green reputations of others never seem to rise to the forefront of public consciousness?

According to Marc Stoiber, green branding efforts in many cities have thus far been sporadic and unimpressive. Stoiber concludes that the secret to successful green branding is "bold marketing as much as visionary infrastructure," and offers three takeaway points as recommendations for those wishing to improve their reputation as leaders in the realm of sustainability.