In the competition between cities, it's not just what a location can do, but how it feels. But how do cities combine hard and soft location factors to create a credible and holistic positioning as a location? Strategy expert Thorsten Kausch demonstrates this using the example of "Unboxing Hannover".

Children and young people are not onlookers to urban development, but creative makers of the city and its future. Find out more about the opportunities and formats of child and youth participation. Also interviewed: Lena Stelling, expert in political education and managing director of PLING Kollektiv.

Tom Hartung explains the phenomenon of cognitive dissonance as a challenge in people's decision-making - and presents a solution: nudging. City makers can use this method from behavioral psychology to motivate citizens to participate.

Laura Ebeling shows why destination management (DM) is the joint task of place marketing and destination marketing - and gives five concrete recommendations for action for integrated destination management.

Place marketing costs money. But the days of endless public funding are over. Thorsten Kausch shows how a new understanding of the role of place marketing organizations and strategic alliances can secure funding.

How does urban development work when budgets are empty? Are cooperations such as BIDs a solution for the city of the future? Neighborhood manager and strategy expert Julia Staron gives a clear answer to these questions - and reports on two best practices from Hamburg: the Neuer Wall BID and the Reeperbahn+ BID.

What role do brands play in shaping public spaces? A growing one, says Sophie May, and shows the potential of brand urbanism using an example from Vienna. The trend is bringing a breath of fresh air to urban development.

Vacancies and structural change also affect the big players - the big cities and the big properties. In the former Karstadt Sport directly at Hamburg's main railway station, Jupiter Hamburg has been demonstrating how sustainable interim use can succeed since 2022.

Since its foundation in 2006, the Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg has developed into Europe's largest club festival. The festival strengthens the Hamburg brand as a music location, attracts international visitors and boosts the local economy. Julia Staron, district manager of the Reeperbahn BID, remembers the birth of the Reeperbahn Festival.