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This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach to place market analysis that aims to identify the ways in which specific places are used and to further enable the identification of distinct segments and products.

Typology construction was chosen as the main study method. Eight polar place demand patterns were classified on the abstract level, using a set of binary variables of spatial behaviour (migration, natural growth and settling). Based on this typology, eight abstract places were deductively described. In conjunction with this deductive study, the authors conducted focus groups, and the results showed considerable similarity in the interpretation of the achieved types.

This paper arrives at interdependent typologies of place demand, place product and place use patterns that allow the ways of using specific places to be identified and distinctive segments and products to be distinguished as particular, consistent combinations of the achieved types.

The typologies obtained expand the scope of competitive analysis and planning in framing place marketing. Distinct uses of specific places unambiguously point to the features of certain segments and could thereby enable a lucid marketing strategy.

Empirically driven place market research has not precisely defined the distinct ideas and concepts of investigated places, which might reflect the different segments of the population that have different intentions for the use of these places. This paper offers important insights into product differentiation and market segmentation in the frame of simultaneous product use.

This paper aims to develop a methodological approach to place product analysis that aims to identify the distinctive ideas of places.

The methodology included two stages: first, classifiers of place product uses and technologies were constructed on the basis of the product concept abstraction (Study 1) and then they were used as tools to systematize data about the attributes of city districts and the everyday activities of their residents to further identify product concepts (Study 2).

Product concepts of five Moscow districts were formulated as sets of benefits or district uses (needs satisfied and activities encouraged) offered to residents. The concepts are expressed in terms of typical constructions but reflect the distinctive features and specificities of the districts.

Defining places as product concepts pushes the place product analysis, benefit and lifestyle segmentation forward. Additional place product dimensions and investigated places are advised to improve the reliability of the used classifiers as a tool for documentary research.

The developed analytical procedure is a much-needed supplement to existing techniques used to shape the product strategies of places. Identifying contradictory uses helps make product decisions that are appropriate in concurrently supporting all these uses, including providing spatial differentiation of the place product. The study results are thus useful for the development of city master plans characterized by long planning horizons and a high degree of conceptualization.

The paper proposes a new method for place product analysis that combines the advantages of both standardized and narrative approaches, introducing a convenient way to address the issue of clarity when transforming a variety of place attributes into core place values and eventual place brands.

Crime in public places is an increasing concern for the police, users of public places and the general public at large. Significantly, users of public transport facilities consistently perceive their risks from crime to be considerably higher, hurting levels of patronage. The aim of this study is to examine concerns for personal safety and measures that could improve sense of personal safety in a Nigerian public transport facility. This study further examines whether respondents’ perceptions determine frequent use of this public place. Explanatory factors are personal safety and place improvements concerns ratings.

The study adopted a case study. The selection of this was accomplished using carefully defined criteria in previous studies. The research process consists of three steps the on-site assessment, objective insecurity assessment and subjective insecurity survey. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Quantitative data were explored using mean ranking, percentages and correlation, whereas qualitative information was analysed using narrative techniques of reporting. To define the major determinants of the frequent use of this public place, a multiple ordinary least squares regression was constructed for variables in the correlation model.

Results show that places within the site are not designed to meet crime prevention through environmental design strategies, as 625 crimes were documented with thefts well above other listed crimes. Respondents exhibited a significant level of concern for their safety across all the factors enumerated while the most important improvements concern was enhancements to lighting. Generally, findings suggest that there is still much to be done to improve elements of surveillance, access control, territoriality, image management and activity support on the site. Regression model shows that efforts to enhance perceived safety of users would have major significance on the frequent use of this facility.

Policies on public place developments should be mainly in terms of tackling the environmental design of car parks and the effects of darkness at night time. This should involve improvement of lighting and the installation of CCTV, security camera as well as constant maintenance of bushes, vegetation, plants, trees and other elements of the landscape. Furthermore, the aesthetics of the site has to be attractive to users. The site and its closest surroundings have to be well-maintained and cared for. Besides, place lines and private areas must be defined with plants, pavement treatments, short walls or fences.

Previous studies on safety and security of public transport places, particularly rail facility, have mainly concentrated on the relations between fear of crime, perceived safety and place improvement concerns. To the best of authors’ knowledge, no study till date has explored how they correlate to the patronage of the transport facility, particularly in the sub-Saharan nations. This study contributes to existing literature having revealed perceived personal safety and transport place improvements concerns to be another important dimension of rail transport patronage in the Nigerian context.

The purpose of this paper is twofold. It first examines cross-institutional benchmark data about “library as place” from 99 US schools in the Measuring Information Service Outcomes (MISO) Survey (www.misosurvey.org). The data demonstrate the value of “library as place” to students in particular. Second, the paper shares case studies of how two college libraries made MISO Survey “library as place” data actionable. Lafayette College (Easton, Pennsylvania) analyzed local MISO Survey data after a renovation to validate return on investment. Earlham College (Richmond, Indiana) analyzed MISO Survey data to help secure a science library renovation and to justify an architectural study for its main library.

The paper begins with an analysis of “library as place” using aggregate benchmarks derived from US college and university respondents between 2012 and 2015. Specifically, the paper contrasts student and faculty perceptions of “library as place” via national benchmarks about: library services importance, satisfaction, and use (three benchmarks); hybrid online/“place-based” library services importance, satisfaction, and use (three benchmarks). Pivoting from higher education to individual, local perspectives, two case studies reveal how academic libraries used MISO Survey findings to demonstrate the value of “library as place” for renovation purposes.

The findings include that undergraduates make more frequent use than faculty of place-based services such as reference, equipment loans, and physical course reserves. Undergraduates also find most of these services more important than faculty do. Faculty makes generally more frequent use than undergraduates of online services such as library databases and the catalog. They find that these services to be more important than undergraduates do. Faculty and undergraduates use newer library discovery systems with equal frequency and find them to be equally important. Undergraduates find comfortable library spaces to be very important, and faculty considers them to be only a bit less important.

This is the first paper using MISO Survey data to focus on the importance and satisfaction of place-based library services involving cross-institutional comparisons for students and faculty. Previously published research using MISO Survey data have compared the use of place-based library services. This is also the first paper to offer case studies about how institutions use MISO Survey data to demonstrate the value of “library as place.”

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the extent that marketers are using place-based images to promote their brands within the host city of the Olympic Games. It is thought that non-sponsors may use place imagery as an alternate way to affiliate with the event or sponsors may use place to enrich their sponsorship activity.

The study uses an observation-based approach to collect a sample of place-based promotional activity that is accessible to pedestrians during the 2012 Olympic Games.

Results reveal that official sponsors and non-official sponsors are both using place-based imagery in their promotions within the host city of the Olympic Games. However, non-sponsors use place images more frequently than sponsors of the event. Place images were invoked by promoters using country flags most frequently followed by icons and explicit mention of place. The leading dimensions of place images employed by marketers include country character, the built environment and people competence. Place-based promotional activity was frequently observed in shopping areas, transportation, sports venues and in free media.

Results provide justification for future research in the area. Specifically, the need for empirical work based on surveys of consumers and interviews with practitioners are noted.

In an era of highly protected event marketing rights, the existence of promotions based on place images can be a useful application for official sponsors to leverage their investments and protect their exclusivity. Similarly, results are beneficial to non-official sponsors who may seek to market in the vicinity of these events without infringing on the rights of official sponsors.

While previous research on place, mega-events, the Olympic Games and sponsors has found the images of the three to be related, it is not known to what extent sponsors and non-sponsors utilize place images in their promotional activities throughout the Olympic host city.

The National Archives (TNA) is the UK Government's official archive. It stores and maintains records spanning over a 1,000 years in both physical and digital form. Much of the information held by TNA includes references to place and frequently user queries to TNA's online catalogue involve searches for location. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate how TNA have extracted the geographic references in their historic data to improve access to the archives.

To be able to quickly enhance the existing archival data with geographic information, existing technologies from Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Geographical Information Retrieval (GIR) have been utilised and adapted to historical archives.

Enhancing the archival records with geographic information has enabled TNA to quickly develop a number of case studies highlighting how geographic information can improve access to large‐scale archival collections. The use of existing methods from the GIR domain and technologies, such as OpenLayers, enabled one to quickly implement this process in a way that is easily transferable to other institutions.

The methods and technologies described in this paper can be adapted, by other archives, to similarly enhance access to their historic data. Also the data‐sharing methods described can be used to enable the integration of knowledge held at different archival institutions.

Place is one of the core dimensions for TNA's archival data. Many of the records which are held make reference to place data (wills, legislation, court cases), and approximately one fifth of users' searches involve place names. However, there are still a number of open questions regarding the adaptation of existing GIR methods to the history domain. This paper presents an overview over available GIR methods and the challenges in applying them to historical data.

The aim of this research project is to uncover if place‐based learning can increase learner engagement and understanding of historical topics.

To study this, learners will use GeoStoryteller to learn about a historical topic on the places where significant events occurred, and then be interviewed by the researchers. GeoStoryteller is a tool developed by the researchers that runs on smartphones, such as an iPhone or Android. It provides the user multimedia stories about the historical sites, delivered via the mobile web or through Layar, an augmented reality web browser. The initial application of this technology focuses on German immigration to New York City between 1840 and 1945 through a partnership with the Goethe‐Institut, the Federal Republic of Germany's cultural institution. After using GeoStoryteller to learn about this content, n=31 participants were interviewed by the researchers, and transcripts were subjected to a quantitative content analysis.

Results indicate that the use of place increases learner perceptions of their engagement and understanding of historical topics; however, novel user interfaces like augmented reality impose significant usability issues, and more standard interfaces are preferred by users.

The use of place in mobile learning environments provides a meaningful entry point into historical content. Teachers of history and social studies, as well as those working in memory institutions (museum, libraries, and archives), should be encouraged in using place in their teaching and mobile education initiatives.

Using service-based logic as its theoretical lens, this study aims to approach residents’ place satisfaction in a novel way. The purpose is to explore residents’ perception of the place in which they live and to shed new light on their place satisfaction.

The paper is based on explorative qualitative focus group research. Data were collected in two typical municipalities in southern Sweden. The sampling procedure was purposive, resulting in six focus groups, consisting of a total of 33 residents. The empirical material was transcribed and analyzed using a structured content analysis inspired by grounded theory.

A model for understanding residents’ perceptions of what constitutes a good place to live is introduced. The model shows that many value propositions are produced in the provider sphere, independent of the user, for example by the municipality or the business sector. Other value propositions are co-created in a joint sphere, meaning that the user is actively involved in the production of these value propositions. The resident then uses different value propositions to create value-in-use in the resident sphere, independent of the provider, and to co-create value-in-use in the joint sphere.

The study creates a bridge between the stream of research on place satisfaction and studies that take stakeholders and co-creation into consideration; it shifts from the prevalent provider perspective on place branding and static place attributes to a focus on the relationship between users and providers.