The role of place promotion and urban image in the development and marketing of rapid mass transit systems (RMT)

Abstract

For many cities, the improvement or development of rapid mass transit (RMT) systems offers benefits to the local population and environment, and contributes to efforts to compete with other centres. This thesis considers the motivations for the contemporary development and marketing of RMT in Edmonton, Canada and Auckland, New Zealand. Data was collected through key informant interviews in each city, supplemented by document analysis and participant observation. It was found that sustainability, interurban competition, political influences and automobility were key themes in RMT development. Place promotion and urban image were found to be moderately important factors and environmental stewardship played a less than expected role. Overall, municipal decision makers are very conscious of the ability to use RMT as a place promotion tool to attract not only economic development, but also a ‘creative class’ of citizens that will help increase their success in regional or global scale interurban competition.