This thesis examines the city branding process with a critical view in the case of Hacı Memiş District in Alaçatı, İzmir. In this context, the study is aimed to criticize city branding approach as an internationally research domain characterized by a multidisciplinary research. Actually, it investigates and analyzes the controversial issues of city branding. The case study of thesis, Alaçatı that has been defined as a recent phenomenon of city branding in Turkey from 2000s, is a historical settlement in İzmir Peninsula. Within the scope of the study, the surveys and in-depth interviews with groups of business owners, locals, visitors and pioneers in Alaçatı provided the study data to reveal the dynamics and direction of the transformation. The study also focuses on the context and background of the settlement, chronological processing of historical developments, social, demographic and economic structure, land uses, plans in different scales, projects and planning decisions, to show implications of city branding on the place and target groups, especially, the locals. The aim of this study is to assess the branding story of Alaçatı in detail for disclosing a spatial, social, economic and quality of life implications on the locals. Research findings indicates that, the branding process of Alaçatı has brought about a radical transformation in Alaçatı. These impacts have caused varied tendencies, particularly, "gentrification" and in parallel with the gentrification in cities, "displacement" tookplace in Alaçatı.