City branding, discourse and politics: a case study on Compassionate Louisville

Using the case of Louisville’s “Compassionate City” brand, the paper shows that city branding can produce discourses that can influence local politics. In 2011, Louisville became a signatory of the Charter of Compassion and began its journey of branding itself as the “Compassionate City”. The branding process created and popularized a discourse of “compassion” with the premise that acts of individual benevolence are honorable, apolitical and can solve the socio-economic issues of Louisville. The discourse of compassion gained popularity in Louisville and became the narrative of political claim-making, contestations, policy rationale, and everyday politics. The discourse reverberated in Louisville’s formal political debates, including fiscal policy, minimum wage, public safety, and neighborhood development. Additionally, it was actively used by citizens to make political claims on a wide range of issues, including LGBTQ, racial justice, homelessness, immigrant rights, and abortion. The narrative of compassion gained such momentum that it was being strategically used by various groups in Louisville, including politicians, city officials, religious organizations, activists, non-profits, and businesses. The paper also takes a critical jab at the popularity of the discourse of compassion, citing that it could be contentious with right-based politics.