
Arts, Culture and Quality of Life in Global Cities Conference
December 9, 2013 • 3:30PM – 5:30PM
The Ford Foundation
The Committee on Global Thought, in partnership with the Ford Foundation and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, presented a one-day program bringing together scholars, policy makers, private sector and nonprofit leaders, and practitioners-artists, architects, planners, community activists. Discussion centered on the urgent issues involved in fostering a deeper understanding of the role arts and culture can play in the development of New York City and other global cities.
- Vishakha N. Desai, Special Adviser for Global Affairs at Columbia University and Senior Research Scholar, School of International and Public Affairs
- Kate D. Levin, Commissioner for the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
- Saskia Sassen, Co-Chair, Committee On Global Thought at Columbia University
- Roberta Uno, Senior Program Officer, Ford Foundation
There is a growing consensus among civic leaders that the presence of arts and cultural institutions and networks is vital to the health of any global city, old or new. But it is less apparent how to build and sustain robust cultural infrastructure.
- How do we develop quantitative and qualitative measurements to assess the impact of arts and culture on the quality of life of cities?
- How do we balance the issues of social justice and creativity in cities where the super-rich and the ultra-poor of the world reside, and often collide?
- What are the roles of public and private sectors in creating a healthy cultural ecology in a global city?
- What are the barriers to the successful implementation of cultural policy in global cities?
Report
The report of the conference, which can be accessed below, aimed to identify key drivers of a successful cultural policy, barriers in the implementation of such a policy, and themes for further research that would help create better assessment tools for measuring the impact of arts and culture on rapidly changing global cities.
Learn more about Arts, Culture, and Quality of Life in Global Cities.