The Essential Role of Culture in Sustainable Urban Development
Through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UN has recognised the essential role of culture in sustainable urban development.
Figure 1: Comparison of four cities and their levels of Cultural infrastructure, Quality of life and GDP. A larger analysis for 500 cities has shown a positive correlation between cultural cities and quality of life in the respective cities.
BOP DATA INSIGHTS
Tourist spending triggered by visits to cultural venues and events in cities, overwhelmingly benefits the local economy outside of the cultural sector
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BOP DATA INSIGHTS
Cultural infrastructure and events are the single biggest component of the tourist product of cities
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BOP DATA INSIGHTS
Culture and the creative industries can bring property development gains to schemes and local areas
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Conor Roche
Associate Director, Innovation
Conor Roche is BOP Consulting’s first director in China, advising international governments and businesses on China’s digital and creative sectors. He is responsible for establishing BOP’s operation in China, developing a portfolio of clients and projects that cover areas including Chinese copyright trade and reform, content and IP licencing, crowdfunding, live entertainment and cultural infrastructure.
Related Insights
What does data tell us about the relationship between culture and sustainable urban development?
LOCATION
Europe
CLIENT
UNESCO
EXPERTISE
The UN’s 11th Sustainable Development Goal, on sustainable cities and communities, states that culture plays an essential role in realising sustainable urban development. According to the UN, sustainable urban development is enabled through strengthened efforts to protect and safeguard the world’s cultural vibrancy and natural heritage.
Culture is an enabler of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
The cultural and creative industries (CCIs) are among the fastest-growing in the world, representing 30 million jobs worldwide. As the proportion of GDP that accounts for CCIs in a city increases, the lower the levels of unemployment.
Culture is an enabler of the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
Figure 2. Levels of Unemployment compared with the proportion of CCI GDP (values normalised per 100,000 inhabitants)
Intercultural dialogue and respect for cultural diversity are powerful tools for reconciliation and the creation of peaceful societies. Intangible cultural heritage represents a source of resilience and knowledge for addressing key challenges, including poverty, providing quality education and climate change. Cities with higher levels of heritage-related infrastructure have higher levels of education and lower levels of crime.
Figure 3. Levels of infrastructure (museums, libraries, landmarks and UNESCO WHS) compared with rate of urban crime, level of poverty and quality of education (values normalised per 100,000 inhabitants)
A higher level of investment in culture leads to a better quality of life
Quality of life score and the % of the municipal budget allocated to culture are strongly correlated across all cities evaluated
Cities that commit higher levels of municipal budgets to culture have a higher quality of life. Culture enables more sustainable development in cities and contributes to a better life for citizens.
Sustainable development is dependant on a commitment to culture
Culture is equivalent and as important an investment as other areas of urban development.
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Every city has its own unique culture. Culture is who we are, where we have been, and where we are going.
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Urban development cannot be sustainable without a commitment to a dedicated policy for the growth and preservation of culture in a city.
BOP Consulting have over 20 years of experience supporting the growth and preservation of culture and the creative industries in cities. We understand that not one size fits all and that every city needs its own dedicated approach to the growth and preservation of culture and the creative industries.
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We would love the opportunity to speak to you about how we can use our experience to enable sustainable urban development through culture and creativity in your city.
Recent Projects
PROJECT
EXPERTISE
LOCATION
YEAR
CLIENT
Understanding the impact of creative practitioner development programmes for London Creative Network
Research and Evaluation
UK
London Creative Network
2021
Assessing the impact of the world’s largest transnational fund for culture – Creative Europe
Research and Evaluation
EU
Creative Europe, European Commission
2021
Research into Ireland’s live entertainment sector’s economic and cultural impact
Research and Evaluation
Ireland
Wide Awake Communications
2020
Understanding Liverpool Biennial’s economic, social and cultural impact.
Research and Evaluation
UK
Liverpool Biennial
2019
