The filtered face of the city and its cultural reinvention: the case of Estonia.

This article delves into the urban imagery curated by city institutions through city branding, tourism communications and an array of diverse textual expressions. Serving as the outward face of the city, this imagery is meticulously shaped from above, emphasising select facets while eclipsing others: in a word, a filtered face of the city. Crafting the face of the city has evolved into a potent instrument for shaping distinctive perspectives that harmonise with the dominant political and cultural worldviews of urban institutions. Nonetheless, the imagery that urban institutions cultivate remains inherently susceptible to a myriad of interpretations depending on the point of views that users take toward it. The article comprises two parts: a theoretical exploration into the construction of urban imagery and the intricate interplay between the constructions devised by its designers and the diverse perspectives assumed by its users. Subsequently, it undertakes an analysis of Estonia's urban reinvention, with a specific focus on the processes of removal, relocation and the establishment of new structures designed to promote the new society’s rule of play.