Abstract: New Approaches to Evidence-based Cultural Policymaking in World Cities Case Guide is produced under the World Cities Culture Forum Leadership Exchange Program funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies and Google Arts and Culture. Originally planned as an in-person exchange visit hosted by Los Angeles City and County, the leadership exchange visit on cultural mapping was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic and replaced with a six-part online exchange. Between January to September 2021, city staff in the fields of culture, economic development and urban planning from ten world cities – Amsterdam, Austin, Barcelona, Chengdu, Moscow, London, Los Angeles, Milan, Montreal and Stockholm – met regularly to share experiences on different approaches to producing evidence for city policy making, with an emphasis on geographic data. This was further enriched by knowledge and insights from seven expert guest speakers. This Case Guide is co-produced with the participating cities. It aims to distill the learnings and share the case studies that were discussed over the course of the exchange with a wider audience. All of the city examples in this document are presented as ‘use cases’ of cultural data in which we highlight relevant questions and outcomes, and direct readers to further readings. Cities featured in this publication have demonstrated innovative use of data to create tangible and lasting results. The research approaches and data sources are wide-ranging: they take the form of mapping studies, community surveys, ethnographic or artistic research, analysis of open data and forecasting studies. Although the contexts and specific research approach vary, they are unified by the same policy goal to make cities more equitable so that all citizens benefit from culture.
