Why the City of Life?

Why the City of Life for San Diego, as opposed to “Biotech Beach”, “Telecomm Valley”, “City of Innovation”, “City of Guacamole” or any other number of ideas? Perhaps a better approach is to ask if there is another identifier that successfully:

1. Defines what San Diego is and what San Diego aspires to be.
2. Celebrates San Diego as the birthplace of "life" for modern day California. (The first European expedition to set foot on the west coast of the United States was led by Spanish explorer Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542, and the location of the first landing was San Diego.)
3. Highlights the reason most of the original settlers migrated to San Diego in the first place. (It was for "life" itself, due to health reasons. San Diego and its climate have long been recommended as an ideal location to cure or forestall a host of illnesses.)
4. Projects a unique, world-class image for San Diego. (We know the "City of Life" does so because when we started promoting it for San Diego, Hong Kong suddenly embraced it as theirs and ran full steam with it. It was only abandoned because of the 2003 SARS epidemic that led to a massive loss of life in their city. Hong Kong is one of the savviest cities in the world and their attempted embrace of the "City of Life" speaks volumes about its potent marketing power.)
5. Showcases San Diego as a city teeming with enthusiasm and a joie de vivre (joy of living.) ("Life" embodies everything a city should want to be about.)
6. Promotes San Diego as an exciting, fun-filled tourist destination.
7. Presents San Diego as an open-minded place where "innovation" and "creativity" are embraced as the building blocks of the community.
8. Invokes the Life Sciences, a key San Diego industry that is playing a pivotal role in improving and lengthening the quality of "life" for all Americans. (While remaining inclusive of all of San Diego's other important industries and professions.)
9. Honors the San Diego presence of the United States Navy and Marine Corps who are in the business of defending "life", as well as our very way of "life". (San Diego is also the birthplace of "life" itself for naval aviation.)
10. Glorifies the foremost inalienable right in the U.S. Declaration of Independence. ("We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.")
11. Spotlights a "quality of life" in San Diego second to none in the world.
12. Appeals to San Diego's physical attributes as a place with endless sunshine and a diverse beauty along the Pacific Ocean.
13. Symbolizes the San Diego "mindset" of warmth, unlimited possibilities, and being able to do anything, any time of the year.
14. Personifies San Diego as an outdoor sporting and activity metropolis with endless opportunities for sailing, surfing, swimming, golfing, tennis, biking, running, hiking, and so on. (Sports Illustrated declared San Diego to be "Sportstown, USA".)
15. Radiates the "vibrancy" and "excitement" of San Diego as seen by our revitalized Gaslamp District, downtown ballpark, rising skyline, and spectacular beaches and harbors.
16. Embodies the Partners for Livable Communities announcement of San Diego as one of the "Most Livable" cities in America, as well as the Men's Journal featuring "The 50 Best Places to Live" with San Diego ranked #1.
17. Echoes the meaning of the upcoming Centennial Celebration of the Panama-California Exposition. (The 2015 Centennial is to be a great Celebration of Life…celebrating the "life" of San Diego itself.)
18. Features San Diego as one of the most bio-diverse regions in the United States and the world, as well as one of the most environmentally friendly. (The definition of "Bio" is fittingly "Life".)
19. Incorporates original, exciting, and complimentary visual imagery that will be "emblematic" for San Diego, and possibly become "iconic" over time.
20. Displays a profound respect for the significant Spanish and Mexican influences on San Diego. (The Spanish translation of City of Life, "Ciudad de Vida", to be interchangeably used.)
21. Capitalizes on a theme brilliant marketing minds around the world are embracing. (The 2010 Shanghai World Expo theme was "Better City - Better Life", and the 2015 Milan World Expo is to be "Feeding the Planet, Energy for Life". "Life" is being recognized as a potent marketing message.)
    

The City of Life successfully accomplishes all of the above. Does any other concept come even close? The time has arrived for San Diego to stand tall on the world stage with a unique identity of its own.

 

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