MARKETING PLACES

Rating:
Summary: Excellent community/economic development primer
Review: Kotler, et al have defined the marriage between the public and private sectors in terms that make sense to both partners. While the implication that the private sector tends to get it right most of the time signals a weakness that haunts the writings of Harvard's Michael Porter("Competitive Advantage of Inner Cities"), the fundamental notions contained in this work seem sound.

Students of city planning, urban affairs, etc., might conclude that the emerging field of hotel, motel, and resort management may offer a more relevant practical model of city management than the current curriculums offer. When it's all said and done what's the significant difference between managing a city and managing a total service resort? As the politics of citys, space, become more rationalized in the larger systems of global markets and international trade, local decision making is increasingly becoming influenced by the factors that Kotler, et al raise in their book.

It's no surprise that my friends in the private sector find "place marketing" the newest fad in the consulting field. In truth, I've been pleased to see the social planners and business planners find common ground in the models and ideas that Kotler, Porter, et al have managed to present.