Sustainability oriented city branding index: Berlin

This study has been prepared with the aim of developing an index to measure the performance of sustainability-oriented city branding efforts and evaluate the currently fragmented city branding practices. On the other hand, the communication dimension of the studies carried out in the field of Sustainability was evaluated through Public Relations. Throughout the research, various city branding and sustainability-oriented city branding initiatives have been examined to establish this index, and it has been constructed upon four main pillars: visibility and legal framework, interaction with the local community, collaborations with organized stakeholders, and investments. These four main dimensions have been identified as variables to create a numerical value and enable quantitative comparison of cities. The index has been tested through a research conducted on the city of Berlin. In order to gain in-depth knowledge about Berlin and obtain efficient results from the index, a survey was conducted regarding the city of Berlin, and in-depth interviews were conducted with professionals working on the Berlin brand. As a result of this study, the Sustainability-Oriented City Branding (SOKM) Index has been generated.