Using a Mixed-Method Approach to Analyze the Role of Citizens in the Realization of a City Brand from the Perspective of City Development Plans Interventions (Case Study: Birjand City)

Using a mixed-method approach, this study aimed to illuminate the effect of city-development plans, as the most fundamental city-shaping instrument, on the realization of a city brand based on the citizens’ perceptions and mental preferences. Then, it develops a structural equation model after recognizing the effective components through employing an exploratory research design. For this reason, 5 criteria, 8 sub-criteria, and 14 indices were investigated, and their relevant data were collected. Birjand was chosen as the research field and a statistical sample was chosen at descriptive statistics using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Accordingly, 19 subjects were selected from urban experts, and 383 citizens were chosen at the quantitative step using simple random sampling. The research model indicated that urban development plans had the highest positive effects on the vitality and migration regarding urban branding plans. According to the correlation between components, the highest relationship was between migration and vitality (0.87), marketing, and vitality (0.849), and the lowest relationship was associated with the mutual effect between marketing and environmental equity (0.633). Moreover, the findings of the interviews revealed that the efforts towards improving the improper, dispersed, and, sometimes, city-reality incongruent media images, attracting the mental and executive participation of the residents of old textures, empowering the residents, managing the presence of Afghan immigrants, and, at the same time, exploiting city multiculturalism evolved due to their attendance could help with the realization of a city brand