Pen-Elayne on the Web

Civically Prideful

Tom Tomorrow (whose new book I'm reading on my daily commute prior to reviewing it as mentioned earlier) has a neat musing on the slogan for the city of Trenton, which pretty much echoes what this former Jersey girl always used to think as well. So I started wondering, as one does, about city slogans. A number of cities have been updating theirs via citizens voting, like Long Beach, CA; the winner of that vote was "Long Beach: Gateway to the Pacific." Nearby Escondido is the "City of Choice." And San Diego tells us it's "The First Great City of the 21st Century." Windsor, Ontario is letting you vote by e-mail. Atlantic City shouts its new choice in very big type. Clearwater City runs into some concerns over its redevelopment slogan. In Pittsburgh they call it a "brand essence." Elko, NV has had one since late 1998. Nearby Hendersonville has a homey-sounding one. Here's Ottawa's corporate branding. But dang, England has the quaintest ones, doesn't it? Check out Coventry's. Lastly, here's a list of Swedish city slogans, for those of you fluent in the language. I think my favorite is "Alnön - Norrlands Hawaii," but "Positiva Frövi" is certainly a close second. So, do you know your city or town's slogan? (Thanks to Wells, Rich & Greene, ours encompasses both NYC and NYS.)