The resilience of small and troubling neighbourhoods for improving the destination brand of the cities. A case from the neighbourhoods of Naples

Modern cities, like living organisms, are in a constant state of evolution and transformation. The cityscape, in general, has an inner diversity, made up of neighbourhoods each with their own unique identity, subculture and history. A recent and promising phenomenon consists of investing increasingly in social, economic, redevelopment and branding strategies to regenerate these neighbourhoods, known in some cases as slums, even though endowed with a rich cultural and historical heritage. This article explores the role of these neighbourhoods in social and economic redevelopment and analyses its implications of underlining the need to consider them as vital pillars for building sustainable and resilient brand value for the cities. Theoretical background. Theories of gentrification support the socio-economic dynamics of urban transformations. Scholars highlight how the redevelopment of marginalized neighbourhoods influences economic structures and promotes creativity. Urban planning theorists emphasise community participation, while sustainability and CSR integration, improve the success of redevelopment. Community involvement is key and a “bottom-up” approach helps urban transformation. Cultural heritage conservation contributes to sustainable tourism by diversifying attractions. Urban marketing, focusing on neighbourhood branding, plays a key role. Recent studies highlight the link between neighbourhood brand identity and city identity. Purpose and design of the research. The research aims to demonstrate how the brand value of specific city neighbourhoods influences the overall brand image of the city. The hypotheses include the positive impact of architectural and cultural regeneration, cultural events and the presence of cultural institutions on the value of the city brand. The theoretical background is embedded in consumer culture, customer-based brand equity, brand love, personal identity theory, and self-expansion theory. The study focuses on three neighbourhoods of Naples – “Rione Sanità”, “Quartieri Spagnoli” and “San Giovanni a Teduccio” – with difficult histories but undergoing positive transformations. The research methodology combines qualitative case study analysis with stakeholder interviews and quantitative analysis of tourists' perceptions. This article shows the evidence from the first phase of the multistage research project. It is aimed to build the theoretical framework, describe the main redevelopment interventions in the investigated neighbourhoods, and their consequences in terms of revitalization of them. Also, they will identify the research hypothesis for the empirical research involving relevant stakeholders, that will be carried out in the next research phase. Expected results. The smaller neighbourhoods of Naples, rich in history and culture, are playing a fundamental role in the transformation of the city. Neglected areas are becoming centres of economic, social and cultural vitality. All this could determine positive associations towards the brand of the city of Naples, improving the city branding strategy. Originality. The relationship between the brand image of neighbourhoods and the brand image of an entire city is a topic undervalued in the literature. Therefore, we think it gives an interesting impulse to the debate in the scientific community on city and place branding from a cultural perspective.