Cultural experiences in the framework of “cultural cities”: measuring the socioeconomic impact of culture in urban performance

Pau Rausell-Köster, Sendy Ghirardi, Jordi Sanjuán, Francesco Molinari & Borja Abril

City, Territory and Architecture. No.9

This article defines "cultural experience" and places it in a holistic conceptual model; “the cultural city” where it plays a relevant role in improving the performing of cities. The conceptual model combines the basic elements of the heritage city, the smart city and the creative city. The city is interpreted from a threefold perspective; as a repository of resources, as a connective interface, and as the setting for citizens' life and social and professional experiences. In this context, each of these perspectives incorporates culture in a different way, enabling different models of value creation and different processes of production and reproduction of this value. In each of the urban...

This article defines "cultural experience" and places it in a holistic conceptual model; “the cultural city” where it plays a relevant role in improving the performing of cities. The conceptual model combines the basic elements of the heritage city, the smart city and the creative city. The city is interpreted from a threefold perspective; as a repository of resources, as a connective interface, and as the setting for citizens' life and social and professional experiences. In this context, each of these perspectives incorporates culture in a different way, enabling different models of value creation and different processes of production and reproduction of this value. In each of the urban models described above, production processes that combine symbolic, physical, financial, social, human and cultural capital in different ways and urban strategies are implemented to provide cultural experiences that ignite transformative effects through several spillovers. That means that culture, in its different dimensions, regains the role of a raw material and becomes the point of origin to activate development processes and improve urban performance. The integration of the dimensions of the heritage city, the creative city and the smart city through an enabling context is the core proposal of the “cultural city”. In alignment with the New European Agenda for Culture, we deepen the analysis in the specific spillovers on wellbeing and quality of life, citizen engagement and urban renewal as the backbone of a set of external effects of cultural experiences. In the final part of this article, we test the plausibility of this speculative proposal through some empirical evidence. We develop an OLS model with proxy indicators, that could be considered transitional indicators, for the three different potential strategies (heritage, smart, creative). The findings support the assertion that it is conceivable that the supply of cultural experiences through a variety of tactics (heritage city, smart city and creative city) can account in part for the growth of European cities in the years after the 2008 financial crisis. These strategies have contributed to the good performance of the urban device in a way that is positive, not negligible (accounting for around 50% of the variance in productivity) and statistically significant. The provision of a context that increases the cultural experiences for citizens has clearly improved the performance of European cities, and we develop some conceptual and empirical mechanisms to explain and measure the socioeconomic impacts of these processes.

Measuring the Cultural and Ceative Sectors EU. Final Report.

Vilares, Manuel Rausell, Pau Martínez, Christian

The Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) are amongst Europe’s most dynamic industries and are an important asset to generate economic growth and employment, as well as to foster social cohesion and promote diversity. According to the Annual Single Market Report 20211, the economic contribution of CCS is substantial and even greater than that of several other leading sectors such as telecommunications, high technology, pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry. However, measuring the economic, cultural, and social value generated by the CCS and their specific sub-sectors is certainly not an easy task. Challenges in measuring the impact of the CCS include the lack of a common...

The Cultural and Creative Sectors (CCS) are amongst Europe’s most dynamic industries and are an important asset to generate economic growth and employment, as well as to foster social cohesion and promote diversity. According to the Annual Single Market Report 20211, the economic contribution of CCS is substantial and even greater than that of several other leading sectors such as telecommunications, high technology, pharmaceuticals, and the automotive industry. However, measuring the economic, cultural, and social value generated by the CCS and their specific sub-sectors is certainly not an easy task. Challenges in measuring the impact of the CCS include the lack of a common definition of the cultural and creative sectors, poor or inadequate data collection mechanisms for specific indicators, and outdated statistical classifications (e.g., NACE codes - Nomenclature des Activités Économiques dans la Communauté Européenne, Nomenclature of Economic Activities) regarding accounting for digitalisation and capturing the value generated by online services. The need for measuring and having proper figures on the CCS responds to various demands ranging from the simple technical need for reliable results in national accounts to concrete policy demands that require accurate information on the linkages between various productive sectors, including the demands of specific sectors and actors that require accurate and detailed information to make better and more efficient decisions, or to advocate for their activities. Within this context, the European Commission launched a Call for proposals to address these challenges and build a new statistical framework for measuring the cultural and creative sectors, to enable regular statistical analysis of the economic, cultural, and social potential of the CCS in Europe. The Consortium behind this Project – under the name Measuring the Cultural and Creative Sectors in the EU – submitted a research Proposal that was selected. This Report is the concluding and closing document marking the end of our research. The proposal had three main goals: (i) to propose a new framework with an updated definition of the scope of the “Cultural and Creative Sectors”, to better quantify the CCS and ensure comparability at European Union (EU) level of all available data; (ii) to develop new methods for capturing and quantifying online services in the CCS, and (iii) to provide updated economic figures on the CCS.

Nueva guía para la evaluación de las políticas culturales locales.

Javier Brun González, Lola Cerviño Riesco, Luis Ben Andrés, Luis Muñiz Martín, María Ángeles Pérez Corrales, Teresa Muela, Pau Rausell Köster, Tony R. Murphy, Rafa Boix-Doménech, Jordi Sanjuán Belda, Sendy Ghirardy, i

The Guide for the Evaluation of Local Cultural Policies (GEPCL), elaborated ten years ago jointly by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the Ministry of Culture, presented a broad theoretical reflection on the most relevant and pressing issues for local governments, in which cultural policies had a great capacity for progress and transformation. The system of indicators proposed in the 2009 document addresses cross-cutting factors such as diversity, participation and the role of memory and innovation in the construction of local identity. In total, 316 indicators made it possible to evaluate the cultural policy developed and to plan with breadth and ambition...

The Guide for the Evaluation of Local Cultural Policies (GEPCL), elaborated ten years ago jointly by the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) and the Ministry of Culture, presented a broad theoretical reflection on the most relevant and pressing issues for local governments, in which cultural policies had a great capacity for progress and transformation. The system of indicators proposed in the 2009 document addresses cross-cutting factors such as diversity, participation and the role of memory and innovation in the construction of local identity. In total, 316 indicators made it possible to evaluate the cultural policy developed and to plan with breadth and ambition the cultural policies of the future. The document was a practical concretisation of the philosophy put forward by the Agenda 21 for culture, which at the time was the document that inspired the conceptual framework of local cultural planning. Interest in urban indicators related to culture and creativity is growing. As Valentina Montalto et al. (2019) point out, the last two decades have seen a massive increase in interest in culture as one of the main resources for urban transformation. This is evidenced by numerous academic research, as well as ongoing reports and studies by international organisations such as the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Commission.

Economía de la cultura para la gestión cultural. De las políticas de innovación a las políticas de desarrollo

Rausell Köster, Pau Ramos Murphy, Tony

La gestión cultural en la era digital.

The technological revolution affects all areas of human life, radically transforming the processes of cultural creation, production, distribution and consumption in a globalised context. It is extremely difficult to conceive an idea of cultural management outside of digital environments. The role of culture in economic and social development is unquestionable, as it affects issues as diverse as welfare, social cohesion, the quality of education, inclusion, the formation of a critical citizenship, etc. As a catalyst for new creative processes, it can become a facilitating tool for innovation. The Covid-19 crisis has generated new problems as well as revealed dilemmas about the...

The technological revolution affects all areas of human life, radically transforming the processes of cultural creation, production, distribution and consumption in a globalised context. It is extremely difficult to conceive an idea of cultural management outside of digital environments. The role of culture in economic and social development is unquestionable, as it affects issues as diverse as welfare, social cohesion, the quality of education, inclusion, the formation of a critical citizenship, etc. As a catalyst for new creative processes, it can become a facilitating tool for innovation. The Covid-19 crisis has generated new problems as well as revealed dilemmas about the functioning of culture in our society. The design of cultural policies is facing a new era characterised by the search for effective formulas for cultural entrepreneurship under the guidelines of the 2030 Agenda. From this perspective, cultural management, as an emerging discipline, requires greater recognition of its importance and specificity in its contribution to sustainable development, creativity in the generation of jobs, the safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage or responsible consumption, among others. The chapters of this book, written by renowned experts from different continents, provide new conceptual and methodological tools in the world of cultural management.

Los sectores culturales y creativos como estrategia de desarrollo local en Sagunt

Sanjuán, Jordi Rausell, Pau

Sagunt, camins patrimonial, cruïlles culturals.

Sagunt's heritage site deserves careful consideration, as it constitutes a historical and cultural landmark that places it as a clear example of what Unesco classifies as a heritage site. The remains, testimonies of an exceptional past, position the city as a paradigm of integral heritage that encompasses cultural assets from ancient times and from its more recent industrial past, as well as emblematic cultural landscapes fossilised from antiquity, but also others from more modern times, including the mountains, the historic irrigated land and the port areas: from the Grau Vell to the blast furnaces and the iron and steel industry. Sagunt can be considered a meta-site in itself, a key city...

Sagunt's heritage site deserves careful consideration, as it constitutes a historical and cultural landmark that places it as a clear example of what Unesco classifies as a heritage site. The remains, testimonies of an exceptional past, position the city as a paradigm of integral heritage that encompasses cultural assets from ancient times and from its more recent industrial past, as well as emblematic cultural landscapes fossilised from antiquity, but also others from more modern times, including the mountains, the historic irrigated land and the port areas: from the Grau Vell to the blast furnaces and the iron and steel industry. Sagunt can be considered a meta-site in itself, a key city in the culture of the Mediterranean, a cultural and historical crossroads and a place of confluence of both land and sea routes.

La cultura com a factor d’innovació socio-econòmica en el territori rural.

Abeledo Sanchis, Raül Rausell Köster, Pau

The approach to the rural environment from the perspective of culture must be based on the recognition of the rural as a cultural category in itself. A culture that must be understood from the collective memory, identity and social cohesion, from the territorial perspective and the social projection of its historical and natural, material and immaterial heritage. A culture capable of valuing and updating its own local resources, helping to reinforce the social capital of the territory, and the community's vertebration and confidence in the site.

The economy of culture: a reading from the mediumsized cities

Rausell Köster, Pau

Culture and Tourism in Medium-Sized Cities. Dialogues for a post-COVID scenario..

La ética y los valores de la creciente centralidad de la condición humana en el escenario urbano se extienden a través del espacio, social y económico y posibilita la aparición de nuevas actividades, algunas de ellas con valor económico y que empujan a la innovación tecnológica y el desarrollo de la comunidad. El desarrollo sostenible, la creatividad, la transparencia, la participación, la rendición de cuentas, la tecnología y el compromiso como los pilares de las nuevas actividades sociales y nuevos sectores productivos; la innovación social, las actividades creativas, la economía de proximidad, la economía colaborativa, la economía circular, las actividades del cuidado, la economía verde,...

La ética y los valores de la creciente centralidad de la condición humana en el escenario urbano se extienden a través del espacio, social y económico y posibilita la aparición de nuevas actividades, algunas de ellas con valor económico y que empujan a la innovación tecnológica y el desarrollo de la comunidad. El desarrollo sostenible, la creatividad, la transparencia, la participación, la rendición de cuentas, la tecnología y el compromiso como los pilares de las nuevas actividades sociales y nuevos sectores productivos; la innovación social, las actividades creativas, la economía de proximidad, la economía colaborativa, la economía circular, las actividades del cuidado, la economía verde, la economía del bien común. Es en estos ámbitos donde la ciudadanía informada, consciente y dueña de sus grados de libertad desean desarrollar sus trayectorias profesionales y vitales, ya que es en estas actividades donde puede encontrar el compromiso, el placer y el significado de las acciones cotidianas. Los determinantes del comportamiento, en este ámbito, responde a una nueva jerarquía de valores asociados con las prácticas culturales: el placer, el deseo expreso de la innovación, del consumo relacional (versus el transaccional) y el intercambio libre, el pensamiento crítico, el desarrollo personal, la solidaridad, la cooperación, el trabajo en red, el valor de la diversidad y la belleza, el sentido de justicia, la participación, la importancia de la dimensión lúdica y vital en comparación con un beneficio puramente económico (BoixDomènech & Rausell-Köster, 2018).

Ecology of learning. Non-formal and informal learning processes trhough culture and communication.

Pau Rausell-Köster

Participación educativa.

This article highlights the growing centrality of non-formal and informal training to acquire the skills and abilities required in the XXI century socioeconomic and in this context explores the role played by cultural and symbolic experiences in informal learning processes, to stand out the relevance of the ecology of learning as a complex system that relates the different levels of education. Two very specific cases are then analyzed as an illustration of these relationships and complementarities of the training plans. The first case is that of AMURE, where nonformal education is used to solve a problem of the formal education system such as school dropout. In the second case, MAGACIM...

This article highlights the growing centrality of non-formal and informal training to acquire the skills and abilities required in the XXI century socioeconomic and in this context explores the role played by cultural and symbolic experiences in informal learning processes, to stand out the relevance of the ecology of learning as a complex system that relates the different levels of education. Two very specific cases are then analyzed as an illustration of these relationships and complementarities of the training plans. The first case is that of AMURE, where nonformal education is used to solve a problem of the formal education system such as school dropout. In the second case, MAGACIM tv is described as a proposal for non-formal education, based on audiovisual production capabilities that activates a complex process of informal learning not foreseen. Both cases serve to propose as a topic of debate that, if we want to understand the educational process, we have to focus on the ecologies of learning and if what we want is to increase the transformative effects of learning then we have to increase the amount and intensity of cultural and communicative experiences and insert them into informal learning processes.

Participación educativa nº 12, pp. 49-59

The impact of cultural and creative industries on the wealth of countries, regions and municipalities.

Boix Domenech, Rafael De Miguel Molina, Blanca Rausell-Köster, Pau

This paper compares the total impact of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) on per capita income of countries, regions and municipalities. We estimate the total effects of CCIs in 78 developed and developing countries in 5 continents, in 275 European regions and in 518 municipalities in the European region of Valencia, using data obtained from multiple databases and nonparametric local linear least squares. The average effects of CCIs are positive in the three territorial scales, in both low- and high-income locations, and increase in conjunction with increases in development, with high and very high developed places showing greater impacts. CCIs are, thus, a powerful resource for...

This paper compares the total impact of cultural and creative industries (CCIs) on per capita income of countries, regions and municipalities. We estimate the total effects of CCIs in 78 developed and developing countries in 5 continents, in 275 European regions and in 518 municipalities in the European region of Valencia, using data obtained from multiple databases and nonparametric local linear least squares. The average effects of CCIs are positive in the three territorial scales, in both low- and high-income locations, and increase in conjunction with increases in development, with high and very high developed places showing greater impacts. CCIs are, thus, a powerful resource for improving the well-being of rich and poor places at all geographic scales; however, they also act as a double-edged sword, as they increase inequalities between places.

Vol. 30, No. 9, Pp. 1777–1797