JAILCD2025-012: A Comparative Study of City Branding Beyond Borders to Further Develop Satellite Cities

Abstract

This paper explores the city branding strategies used by countries to strengthen the positioning of their satellite cities. This research has performed a comprehensive analysis of the literature about the city branding of satellite cities worldwide. Drawing upon a systematic literature review, networking map, and comparative analysis, it shows that imaginaries of satellite cities' competition and city branding are still superficially internalized in urban planning as part of optimizing supporting spaces for transportation and settlement. Implementing a new framework approach to city branding in satellite cities can facilitate a more comprehensive evaluation of the city's prerequisites. The findings can be neatly categorized into five distinct research challenges: urban development and planning, city branding and tourism, perceptions and strategic approaches, urban policy and smart city initiatives, and economic growth and modernization. The concept of city branding for satellite cities is further divided into several kind strategies, such as offering housing and lifestyle, implementing neotraditional urban design, making functional specialization, and promoting accessibility and connectivity.