In many ways, cities are living, breathing entities – and they’re evolving just as we are. We reached out to Jonathan Woetzel, Director of the McKinsey Global Institute, to understand how the crises of the 21^st century are shaping the development of our cities.

5G has been in the pipeline since as early as 2008. Today, 5G is nearly in our grasp and 2020 will see the first roll out of commercially viable 5G in consumer devices. But what does it really mean for cities? For businesses? Will 5G herald the next wave of digital transformation or will we just be living in a faster version of our current society?

We are living in unprecedented times. And in the midst of it all, destination marketing and investment promotion organisations are taking stock and rapidly evolving their role. In the face of a global crisis, what can DMOs and IPOs constructively do to mitigate the damage?

What happens when place branding becomes separated from the government? What changes when the private sector becomes the leading driver of a place brand strategy?  Can it work?  We looked to three contrasting examples of private sector-led place branding initiatives to understand some developing trends in private sector engagement.

Brand Finance unveiled the Global Soft Power Index at a summit in London on February 25th, in front of an audience of over 400 international diplomats. What were the key findings from the index, and what can place branders learn from soft power experts?

No one wants to imagine the worst will happen. But being prepared is key to managing a potential crisis. With Coronavirus creating an international emergency, we looked at what connects three examples of best practice in the face of overwhelming adversity.

The UK media is covered in headlines proclaiming the death of the high street. But this isn't true - they're just in a process of transformation. How are destinations using innovative placemaking and policy reforms to revitalise their city centres?

Three years ago, City Nation Place conducted a survey to discover how the place branding teams for cities, regions, nations and places around the world viewed their opportunities and challenges, and what they were predicting for the future. These are some of the conclusions we drew from the survey in 2017 – but how have these changed as we head into the new decade?

The City Nation Place Awards set the benchmark for quality place brand and communication strategies around the world – what lessons can we learn from the winning case studies of 2019?

More and more, people's perceptions are formed online. But how does this impact place brand strategies? Jose Torres, CEO at Bloom Consulting shared his insights with us on how nation brands are evolving to meet challenges of the 21st century.