Well, if this doesn’t make you want to go to Chicago, perhaps something exciting might. Actually, waaaay down in the story Becky Yerak mentions that the people surveyed “…expressed glee over the city’s culture, location, diversity, infrastructure, beauty and quality of life.”
So, why does the Chicago Tribune headline the story with the word “bland” and say the city has a “…split personality and evokes images of both an erudite professional and a middle-age, blue-collar worker.”
One thing is certain in all this news of city branding; Somebody’s making a pile of money dreaming up the surveys and charging for deep thinking. It took a year to figure out that Chicago might be “slightly bland.” A trip through O’Hare two weeks ago told me that, and I didn’t need to survey anyone but myself.