Liverpool Images
doi:10.1016/j.cities.2008.09.003 Cities 25 (2008) 355–369 www.elsevier.com/locate/cities The construction of images of people and place: Labelling Liverpool and stereotyping Scousers
Philip Boland
*
School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WA, United Kingdom Received 23 November 2007; received in revised form 8 September 2008; accepted 10 September 2008 Available online 12 November 2008
On 28th August 1207, King John created the Borough of Liverpool by granting its first charter. During the ensuing 800 years Liverpool has experienced a complex and changing social, economic and political history resulting in powerful images of the city and its people. This paper examines the labelling of Liverpool and stereotypes of Scousers. It explains how historical and contemporary events, and their coverage in various arms of the media, construct social and spatial imaginations of the city. This involves a more systematic contribution to the how and why dimensions of negative place imagery and social stereotypes, and enhances our understanding of the processes and issues affecting our interpretations of people and place. The analysis is both historical and contemporaneous in teasing out how previous and current events shape the perceptions of insiders and outsiders. This paper reveals that despite concerted efforts to re-brand Liverpool the city continues to face difficult challenges with ongoing bad publicity and negative place imagery.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction: images of the city
In an earlier issue of this journal Avraham (2000, p. 369) called for ‘‘additional research on most of the factors that affect cities’ images’’. This paper responds to that invitation through an analysis of constructions of images of Liverpool and stereotypes of Scousers1. How people interpret places is determined not only through personal experience, but also through a variety of
Philip Boland
*
School of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University, Glamorgan Building, King Edward VII Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3WA, United Kingdom Received 23 November 2007; received in revised form 8 September 2008; accepted 10 September 2008 Available online 12 November 2008
On 28th August 1207, King John created the Borough of Liverpool by granting its first charter. During the ensuing 800 years Liverpool has experienced a complex and changing social, economic and political history resulting in powerful images of the city and its people. This paper examines the labelling of Liverpool and stereotypes of Scousers. It explains how historical and contemporary events, and their coverage in various arms of the media, construct social and spatial imaginations of the city. This involves a more systematic contribution to the how and why dimensions of negative place imagery and social stereotypes, and enhances our understanding of the processes and issues affecting our interpretations of people and place. The analysis is both historical and contemporaneous in teasing out how previous and current events shape the perceptions of insiders and outsiders. This paper reveals that despite concerted efforts to re-brand Liverpool the city continues to face difficult challenges with ongoing bad publicity and negative place imagery.
Ó 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Introduction: images of the city
In an earlier issue of this journal Avraham (2000, p. 369) called for ‘‘additional research on most of the factors that affect cities’ images’’. This paper responds to that invitation through an analysis of constructions of images of Liverpool and stereotypes of Scousers1. How people interpret places is determined not only through personal experience, but also through a variety of