Book | The Civic Brand: The Power & Responsibility of Place

A bold and practical book that challenges conventional thinking about city-building, tourism, economic development, and community engagement. Author Ryan Short introduces a new framework for shaping more resilient, equitable, and loveable places. It’s a call to city leaders, planners, business owners, developers, and residents alike to recognize the power and responsibility we all hold in shaping our places.

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"What I appreciate most about this book is that it doesn’t flinch from complexity. Cities are messy. There’s no simple fix. But there is a better way to work. That’s the promise of a civic brand. And that’s the gift of this book."

- Charles Marohn
Founder of Strong Towns

Bulk Orders

Bulk orders are available at a discounted rate, and every order of 10 or more includes a free one-hour Zoom session with author Ryan Short to explore how the book’s ideas connect to your community’s opportunities and challenges. They’re perfect for city councils and staff teams, CVB, economic development and chamber boards, downtown and Main Street groups, classrooms, and conferences. For conferences or orders of more than 20 copies, please contact us directly.

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About the Author

Ryan Short is the co-founder of CivicBrand, a place branding consultancy specializing in engagement-led projects across the United States. Since 2008, Ryan has guided CivicBrand’s team in crafting strategies that elevate communities through place branding, placemaking, and destination marketing. His work has impacted cities, towns, and regions nationwide, helping them become more vibrant, equitable, and loveable places.

Ryan is the author of The Civic Brand: The Power and Responsibility of Place and host of the Eyes On The Street podcast, where he explores the intersection of community, culture, and design with thought leaders and changemakers.

Passionate about the profound role place plays in shaping our lives, health, and happiness, Ryan advocates for a people-first approach to community shaping projects. He is committed to ensuring that place branding not only fosters connection and identity but also champions sustainability and equity for the betterment of both people and the planet.

What People Are Saying

"We are going to be doing a Community Vision Plan soon and I'm making The Civic Brand mandatory reading for my Council and senior staff before we start to help frame things and get them thinking differently."

Shane Ray
Chief Administrative Officer Municipality of Ritchot, Manitoba

"Powerful, unflinching and passionate, The Civic Brand was my constant companion on airliners as I completed my travel year in 2025. If you are a student or practitioner of Place Branding, The Civic Brand will challenge you to, as Rafiki said in the Lion King, “look harder.”

Bill Geist
DMOU

"If Jane Jacobs and Yvon Chouinard ever had a love child it might have been Ryan Short. The Civic Brand is a good read for everyone interested in the cities we live in. It’s a fresh and practical take on navigating complicated social, environmental, and financial goals that reads more like a discussion around a campfire than a lecture at a university."

Nicholas Nelson
Landscape Architect

"If you travel around America these days, you may find that it’s the struggling cities that begin to look alike — the successful ones succeed in their own individual ways. At least, that’s the argument of longtime urban consultant Ryan Short, who makes his point rather convincingly in a new book, The Civic Brand."

Alan Ehrenhalt
Governing.com

“Ryan is a voice of plainspoken sanity in a sea of technical jargon, and I’m excited to tell everyone… Go buy his damn book already!”

Jeff Siegler
Revitalize, or Die

“I kept nodding all the way through, like when something you’ve been thinking about for years suddenly lands on the page.”

Florian Kaefer
The Place Brand Observer