Neighbourhood branding and urban regeneration: performing the 'right to the brand' in Casilino, Rome

In the last decade, many cities have experimented with small-scale initiatives aimed at enhancing the quality of life of residents; these initiatives have somehow fostered a reconceptualization of the term, as well as practice, of urban regeneration. In this context, the role of civic networks in bringing forward experiments in the production of alternative imaginaries and place-making has gained a major role, in particular in marginal neighbourhoods. By focusing on a case study in the eastern periphery of Rome, the paper explores the case of citizen-led neighbourhood branding, highlighting open issues and ambiguities in claiming a 'right to the brand'.