Reputation and cities

In recent decades, national and supranational entities have introduced criteria that lead cities to be “measured” with different parameters to enter rankings that should express their qualities (technological equipment, quality of life, creativity, gender equality etc.). These elements are considered important by administrations to build and communicate the reputation of places. But the intersection of the data, with the internal and external perception of the city, returns a complexity that cannot be expressed only by catalogs set on general parameters, and therefore can be authentic only if it interprets values perceived and shared by the community. The theme of identity and representation is increasingly played on two different but decidedly complementary levels, the global and the local one, which we can schematically see expressed the first by the municipalities and by the national and international service companies that manage some strategic nodes and, the second, again by the municipalities and communities and the formal and informal groups that inhabit it. The topics were addressed during and after the candidacy of ____ as UNESCO creative city. From this, and from other considerations, the construction of the joint laboratory between the University and the company Communication design for Sustainability developed. One of the objectives of the laboratory is to work between the two “cities” and to intercept the nodes of contact such as that of sustainability. On this topic it is possible to search for a shared language and actively project networks that are able to enhance the common good. Previous and ongoing experiences developed in this research area starting from the UNESCO candidacy will be examined and illustrated.