Editing Nickname (section)

=== Placenames ===
[[File:Nicknames of the states, 1884.jpg|thumb|Nicknames of U.S. states, 1884]]
Many geographical places have titles, or alternative names, which have positive implications. [[Paris]], for example, is the "City of Light", [[Rome]] is the "Eternal City", [[Venice]] is "La Serenissima", and [[New Jersey]] is the "Garden State". These alternative names are often used to boost the status of such places, contrary to the usual role of a nickname.  Many places or communities, particularly in the US, adopt titles because they can help in establishing a civic identity, help outsiders recognize a community or attract people to a community, promote civic pride, and build community unity.<ref name=Wisconsin>{{cite web|last =Muench|first = David |date =December 1993|url = http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/economies/communityindicators/communityslogans.pdf |title =Wisconsin Community Slogans: Their Use and Local Impacts|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130309175857/http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/economies/communityindicators/communityslogans.pdf |archive-date=2013-03-09 |publisher =[[University of Wisconsin|University of Wisconsin – Extension]] }}</ref> Titles and slogans that successfully create a new community "ideology or myth"<ref name=Branding/> are also believed to have economic value.<ref name=Wisconsin /> Their economic value is difficult to measure,<ref name=Wisconsin /> but there are anecdotal reports of cities that have achieved substantial economic benefits by "branding" themselves by adopting new slogans.<ref name= Branding>Andia, Alfredo (September 10, 2007) [http://www.monu.org/monu7/Branding.pdf "Branding the Generic City"] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080521163526/http://www.monu.org/monu7/Branding.pdf |date=2008-05-21 }}, MU.DOT magazine</ref>

By contrast, older [[city nickname]]s may be critical: [[London]] is still occasionally referred to as "The Smoke" in memory of its notorious "pea-souper" [[smog]]s (smoke-filled fogs) of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and [[Edinburgh]] was "Auld Reekie" for the same reason, as countless coal fires polluted its atmosphere.