An Analysis of the Historical and Transformation of the City Image from Image ability to Urban Brand, with an Emphasis on Three Periods of Modernism, Postmodernism and Globalization

Urban concepts and spatial changes in urban environments have been developed in parallel with economic, political and social changes, as well as changes in the approaches to scientific knowledge. The concept of city image is also one of the city-related concepts. Image is shaped and developed in the interaction between man and the environment Along with the changing economic, political, social and scientific developments this concept has also changed.

The three modern, postmodern, and globalized periods, according to the circumstances and conditions of that period, have focused on the image of the city from a particular angle. Therefore, the aim of this research is to examine the process of evolution of the concept of city image during the three periods of modernism, postmodernism and, ultimately, the era of technology and information and globalization.

This research has been done as a descriptive-analytical theoretical-practical study.

By analyzing the resources, it became clear that the image of the city during the three periods mentioned has been changed so that in the period of modernism, the image presented by Lynch and his followers focused on subjects like environment perception and city imagery, and visually emphasizing on the physical factors of the environment.  In the postmodern period, the image of the urban environment, which sought to extract the perceived meaning of the environment and its emotions, was followed. With the start of the era of communication and globalization and the competitiveness of cities to attract capital, tourists and visitors to the image of the city were considered an important component in marketing and branding.

The image of the city is now somewhat distant from its original concept in the modern era, which is derived from physical issues, and is considered an important component in marketing and branding in combination with communication and information technology.