Make up urbanism : the gap between promise and performance of Florianópolis (Brazil) In the last two decades many cities have faced changes in their economic basis and therefore adopted an entrepreneurial approach in the municipal administration accompanied by city marketing strategies. Brazilian cities have also adopted this approach like the case of Florianópolis. Florianópolis has promoted advertising campaigns on the natural resources of the Island of Santa Catarina as well as on its quality of life in comparison to other cities. However due also to such campaigns it has experienced a great demographic growth and consequently infrastructural and social problems. Nevertheless it seems to have a good image within the national urban scenario and has been commonly considered an “urban consumption dream” for many Brazilians. This paradoxical situation is the reason why it has been chosen as the research object in this dissertation. Thus the questions of this research are: is there a gap between the promise and the performance of the city of Florianópolis If so can tourists and residents recognize it And finally how can this gap be demonstrated Accordingly the main objective of this research is to propose a conformity assessment approach applicable to cities by which the content of city advertisement campaigns can be compared to its performance indicators and satisfaction degree of its consumers. Therefore this approach is composed by different methods: literature and legislation reviews semi structured and structured interviews with experts and inhabitants an urban centrality development analysis a qualitative discourse analysis of advertising material (including images) a qualitative content analysis of newspaper reports and a questionnaire survey. Finally the theses are: yes there is a gap between promise and performance of Florianópolis; this promise is a result of city marketing campaigns which advertise its natural features and at the same time hiding its urban aspects supported by some political and private actors mainly interested in the development of tourism and real estate market in the city; this gap has been already recognized by tourists and more intensively by residents; the selected methods worked as a kind of conformity assessment for cities and tourist destinations; and last but not least since there is a gap it designates the practice of “make up urbanism”. Research limitations are the short time frame covered by this analysis and small and non representative samples. However its relevance lies in the attempt to fill in two disciplinary lacunas: a conformity assessment approach for cities and the creation of knowledge about Florianópolis and its further presentation at an international level on the one hand. On the other hand the transfer of this approach to other cities would help explaining a (common) contemporary urban phenomenon and appeal for more ethical conduct and transparency in the practices of city marketing.