Why cities struggle to see themselves clearly

When AI is asked to aggregate images of a typical European city, the result always looks bland and generic. It could be anywhere — and when tested with European city experts, the answer was clear: "Could be Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, France, or England, everywhere or nowhere." It's a striking illustration of what we called in a previous article the "sea of sameness."

During the CityDNA conference in Budapest we asked a panel of experts: why is it so hard for cities to stand out and stay authentic?

Minna Ermala (Business Helsinki) explains:

"Finns are mostly shy. Maybe it's easier to be similar. Visitors want to be part of local life, but it's hard to promote if locals don't know what's unique about their everyday life. We tend to think a city should have culture, art, concerts, touristic sites, and food — food is important in tourism — but we miss what makes us different."

Lukasz Wysocki (Visit Gdansk) points to three challenges:

"First, you need trust from city management. Being different requires bravery. It took years to convince them that showing Gdansk as rainy and windy — not for everyone — was worth it. Authorities want shiny Instagram images, but authenticity matters more. Second, you must know what you're marketing — the value for locals. Third, it's a long-term effort. After 11 years, we are now brave enough to be authentic, but it took eight years of preparation."

Davy Jansegers (Lausanne Tourisme) highlights the national image trap:

"In Switzerland, people expect everything to be clean and perfect. But in cities, you have homeless people, burglars — it's normal urban life. We are working on reflecting the true identity shaped by locals, including the 'nasty twitch' that gives the city character."

Cristina Cerutti (Turismo Torino) shares the struggle of overcoming stereotypes:

"We are totally different. People used to see us only as an industrial city, shaped by Fiat and Juventus. Now we're trying to find our own DNA, separate from industry and from Milan's shadow. We don't want to be Milan; we have our own story."

The panel discussion revealed how hard it is for cities to look honestly at themselves. Authenticity demands local involvement, patience, and courage — and a willingness to move beyond stereotypes. Each city is at a different stage, but all aim to offer visitors a genuine experience.

- ELKE DENS

The article has been made for the VivaCity, a learning lab of CityDNA, sponsored by Simpleview. This article is part of a series around the topic 'place identity'.