Can a city have a personality?
Talking about cities we use phrases like can-do, romantic, inspiring, edgy, even down or depressed, which can all relate to personalities. We wondered what would happen if a city could take a personality test, would it be introvert or extrovert, agreeable or lacking in confidence? So we wrote one. This test is a prototype that evolves from usage and your feedback. It is not a way of saying scientifically ‘this is the personality of your city’. Instead, it tells you something about how you and others perceive your city, its strengths and weaknesses and how they could be addressed.
It is capable of individual and group use, and has been used very successfully in community planning and consultation. It is a unique way into a conversation about a city, town or neighbourhood, because it goes with the flow of our innate tendency to humanise the world around us. It allows us to talk about a place and its complexities as if it were a person.
If you want to use it for a group or consultation exercise or want a deeper analysis than the automated readouts, please make contact to discuss how we can set this up for you.
The Test can be taken HERE and more information on how it was constructed in our publication ‘Psychology & the City: the hidden dimension’ which you can order HERE.
Overview of some of the Test results
Results of the tests — where agreed with cities — appear on our web resource. A few tasters are included below, just extracts from the several pages of results the test provides. We stress these are people’s perceptions, not our view or what the place necessarily ‘is’.
Milton Keynes represents an idea bigger than itself, is altruistic, believes in volunteering help and is family-oriented. It is sensitive and can tend toward procrastination, but has a fun side and likes to throw a party. It has a sense of the aesthetic, but is also highly rational and can be seen as cold by those that don’t know it.
Plymouth is an adventurous explorer, yet methodical and logical in its search for a sense of meaning, wanting to strengthen its identity. Its highly collaborative approach is positive, but can sometimes arise from a lack of self-reliance and confidence; it would sometimes just like to be told what to do.
Antwerp is free spirited and thrives on networks and contacts. It takes pride in improving the lives of others. It is precise and competent in its actions, dislikes laziness and is highly moral. It is entrepreneurial and determined, but can come across as dominating and unforgiving.
Minneapolis is a highly motivated and energetic place that enjoys a festival. Its good at supporting people’s emotional needs, but doesn’t always cut through to the root of a problem because it can be conflict-averse. It is great at coming up with new ideas, but not always at following them through into action.
Ghent has an air of natural and charismatic ease, a confident place that seeks to improve the wellbeing of people, but that sometimes takes on others’ problems too deeply. It is a highly sociable and networked place, and although it has a strong grasp of logic, can let the heart rule the head, acting on intuition and coming up with complex solutions when something simpler would do.
