Michael’s research is directed at analyzing and explaining the impacts of city branding at the local level.  The book that he is writing on this topic deals with the political and economic factors which have encouraged cities to embrace branding as integral aspect of regeneration.  A key argument is that while cities have always been keen to boost their prosperity and influence, city branding has profound implications for community engagement and the evolving definitions of local governance.  For instance he is looking at how city banding strategies may conflict with reimaging initiatives which are seen as forming an important part of neighbourhood placemaking projects.  For similar reasons he is interested in the semiotic relationship between spatial configurations such as urban heritage quarters, public art and former industrial infrastructure restructured for leisure consumption and the commercial priorities of local governance.  The branding implications of hosting international events such as the Olympics or providing the setting for feature films also form part of Michael's research context.

Michael is assessing how examples gathered during research might also be adapted to create classroom case studies.