Place branding and sustainable development: a scoping review

Place branding is a multidisciplinary field of research and practice that plays an important role in sustainable development by stimulating economic growth, social prosperity and environmental sustainability. Despite the significance of this intersection, research on place branding and sustainable development is limited. This article contributes to fill this gap by examining the main characteristics of this domain. Additionally, this study analyses the relationship between place branding and sustainable development literature and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A scoping review of research published from 2013 to 2023 indexed in Scopus and Web of Science is undertaken, involving the analysis of 33 articles. The results find literature is scattered across several journals and focused mainly on single-place case studies located in Europe. While there is a growing interest in the topic of place branding and sustainable development, articles tend to address sustainable development in an abstract or generic way without explicitly incorporating the 2030 Agenda in their methodology or result outcomes. This exploratory review contributes to existing literature on place branding by highlighting its linkages with sustainable development. It also underscores the need for further research on this topic and the importance of incorporating the SDGs in the place branding discussion.