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What have we discovered about this theme? |
General Findings
‘Being distinctive’ should be an important aspect of a small town strategy. An emphasis on identity and culture can give meaning and value to any strategy, providing opportunities to ensure community engagement and involvement and in helping to develop the overall vision for the community (see ‘Community Dialogue and Engagement’ and ‘Community Safety and Facilities’ components). There are a number of different aspects that need to be considered with the key being the identification of those factors of what makes the place special and unique. This can extend from developing a brand image for the town reflecting both its environmental qualities and its locational advantages through to developing design codes and handbooks for new development (see ‘Built and Natural Heritage’ components).
In terms of promotion the identity of the town, it is highly desirable that this is carried across as a unifying feature of all promotional material, leaflets and tourism marketing (see ‘Marketing and Promotion’ component). By doing this, the advantages of the brand image are strengthened (see ‘Tourism’ and ‘Town Centre Management’ components). Public art has a significant role to play and the most successful examples are where the local community is fully involved in the whole process rather than it being imposed from outwith the community (see ‘Community Dialogue and Engagement ’ and ‘Partnership/Local Governance’ components).
Essential Aspects
Identification of what makes a place special is an essential requirement and provides the community with a clear way into the strategy development. In order to achieve this, it is important for small town practitioners to develop effective engagement and methods of communication. This can be done through a wide variety of techniques and, in particular, interactive techniques such as photography and digital media, can prove helpful. The branding of the town should be aspirational and reflect the vision of the town articulated through the whole-town strategy.
Strong identities will be based on a mix of people factors (history, traditions, traits, qualities and associations) and place distinctions (location, buildings, streets, nature, landscape).
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