No place branding without place making: The role of food and sense of place (part II)


By Gerard van Keken for www.placebrandz.com


In the last blog I wrote about the origins of place making, that referred to the Project of Public Spaces (www.pps.org) which is dedicated to helping people create and sustain public spaces to build stronger communities. Inspiration came from Jane Jacobs and for instance her ‘Death and life of great American cities’ (1961) and her worries about the human size and livability of cities.
Aravot (2002) puts place making in a tradition of urban design, which dates back, more or less, to the seventies of the twentieth century. According to her, sense of place is the desired result of place making, and is regarded as a human need, essential for well being and feelings of safety, security and orientation, and a remedy against feelings of alienation and estrangement (p.202). Not a surprise if you put that against placelessness on the other end of the continuum. Placelessness that seems to crawl into our lives everywhere, in my opinion. Also Mackay & Brady (2005, p.208) describe the sense of place as a desired result of place making and put that in global – local context.

That is what I like to put forward here: the global – local context, placelessness and sense of place as frameworks for the role of food in place making and place branding. Food is one of the carriers of identity. Not only local, but also regional, national and even global identity. Many authors referred to food and identity, and the global – local nexus. Well known is Ritzer with his McDonaldization (1998), visible in fast food chains like McDonalds, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Subway and Pizza Hut. Many authors wrote about fast food as a characterisation of the globalization of economy and culture (Richards, 2002), and the expansion of capitalism (Knox, 2005). On the other side of the continuum we find the well known slow food movement (Petrini, 2001; www.slowfood.com) as an answer to the fast food world. Regional and local products as carriers of identity are the subject in books and articles written by Bessière (1998), Hjalager & Richards (2002), Hall & Mitchell (2002), Trubek (2008).

Food, an interesting topic that seems to interest many academics and practitioners. Dutch TV is overwhelmed with cooking shows, chefs as celebrity stars and restaurants as holy places where everyone should come. But what about the connection of food, place and its sense of place? Doesn’t everybody recognize the endless examples of travelling some place and having meals that are very much connected to that spot and the sense of place? When you come home and try to prepare such meals yourself, most often it doesn’t work at all (if you can’t cook, ok, that is another problem !). The pizza in a pizzeria in Naples or many other Italian cities. The French dinner with a good glass of French wine in that bistro in that rural village or Paris. French fries (why they are referred to as French and not Belgian or Flemish is a great mistery) at the ‘frietkot’ (a sort of mobile wooden snack bar), Beijing Duck in that Chinese restaurant. I know, all rather cliché, but still very recognisable. Examples of a different kind are culinary events that are connected with regional products and place. Since 2000 I organise the Taste of Zeêland as a culinary and cultural event where chefs prepare dishes with regional products, like mussels, lobster (lobster from Zeeland is said to be even better than Canadian) and fish (www.smaekvanzeeland.nl).

What matters in all these examples is the sense of place, connected to food, the atmosphere and the place itself. As Aravot states, it is multidimensional: cultural, physical, spiritual and social (2002, p. 209) and above all, uncopyable. And that is what matters in place making and place branding: making a difference.

• Aravot, I. (2002). Back to Phenomenological Placemaking. Journal of Urban Design. Vol. 7, no. 2, pp. 201–212.
• Bessière, J. (1998). Local Development and Heritage. Traditional Food and Cuisine as tourist Attractions in Rural Areas. Sociologia Ruralis. Vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 21-34.
• Hall, M. & R. Mitchell (2002). Tourism as a Force for Gastronomic Globalization and Localization, in: Hjalager,A. & G. Richards (eds).Tourism and Gastronomy. pp. 71-90. London/New York: Routledge.
• Hjalager, A. & G. Richards (2002). Tourism and Gastronomy, London/New York: Routledge.
• Jacobs, J. (1961). The Death and Life of Great American cities. New York: Vintage Books.
• Knox, P. (2005). Creating Ordinary Places: Slow Cities in a Fast World. Journal of Urban Design. Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-11.
• MacKay, D. & C. Brady (2005). Practices of Place-making: Globalisation and Locality in the Philippines. Asia Pacific Viewpoint. Vol. 46, no. 2, pp. 89-103.
• Petrini, C. (2001). Slow Food. The Case for Taste. New York: Columbia University Press.
• Richards, G. (2002), Gastronomy: an essential Ingredient in Tourism Production and Consumption. In: Hjalager, A. & G. Richards (eds.). Tourism and Gastronomy. pp. 3-20. London/New York: Routledge.
• Ritzer, G. (1998). The McDonaldization Thesis. London: Sage Publications.
• Trubek, A.B. (2008). The Taste of Place. A cultural Journey into Terroir. Berkeley: University of California Press.

www.pps.org
www.slowfood.com
www.smaekvanzeeland.nl