Competition among cities to become attractive to visitors often leads to loss of place identity and a decline in urban quality for local residents. This study explores the urban identity of Alicante City through a Japan-Spain cross-cultural survey in order to compare visitor and local views. The results, obtained through fieldwork mapping and questionnaires conducted on-site, suggest general qualities of public space, some seemingly related to cultural background (e.g. cleanliness for Japanese, colorfulness for local Spaniards), others to different levels of familiarity with the place (e.g. convenience for locals), and finally qualities like ‘liveliness’ that seem to have a strong cross-cultural appeal. To overcome the loss of urban identity multiple factors need to be addressed. In the case of Alicante the enhancement of street liveliness, as a clear cross-cultural urban quality that seems to satisfy both locals and visitors, can be one of the relevant factors to be considered.
