Why must culture be at

the heart of sustainable

urban development?
NANCY DUXBURY
JYOTI HOSAGRAHAR
JORDI PASCUAL
January 2016.

The Committee on culture of the world association of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is the platform
of cities, organizations and networks that foster the relation between local cultural policies and sustainable de-
velopment. It uses the Agenda 21 for culture as its founding document.

It promotes the exchange of experiences and improves mutual learning. It conveys the messages of cities and
local governments on global cultural issues. The Committee on culture is co-chaired by Buenos Aires and Mexico
City, and vice-chaired by Angers, Barcelona, Belo Horizonte, Bilbao, Bogot, Jeju, Milano, Paris and Porto Alegre.

This article was commissioned in the framework of the implementation of Agenda 21 for culture and Culture 21
Actions, and it contributes to the activities of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments for Post-
2015 Development Agenda towards Habitat III (2016).

This article is available on-line at www.agenda21culture.net. It can be reproduced for free as long as the Agenda
21 for culture - Committee on culture of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) is cited as source. Authors
are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this text and for the opinions ex-
pressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UCLG and do not commit the organisation.
Cultural matters
are integral parts
of the lives we lead.
If development
can be seen as
enhancement of
our living standards,
then efforts geared
to development can
hardly ignore the
world of culture.
AMARTYA SEN
PART I.
BACKGROUND
 INTRODUCTION
Four decades on from the first Habitat Conference on housing and human settlements, the economic,
political, and social dimensions of development have all been acknowledged and, to a greater or lesser
extent, understood by the international community. In contrast, the cultural dimension of development is
still too often misunderstood or undervalued, or seen as an optional extra to be added when the hard work
of real development is done. This policy paper provides an overview of the evolving recognition of culture
in sustainable development and attempts to bust the myths surrounding what culture is and what it can
do. Finally, it gives recommendations on how to operationalize culture at the local level as a contribution
to the positioning of local and regional governments at Habitat III through the Global Agenda of Local and
Regional Governments for the 21st Century.

As the Habitat III issue paper by UNESCO, Urban culture and heritage1 notes, the contemporary urban
crisis calls for a new model of urban development. In addition to decreasing vulnerability and environ-
mental footprints, this new model must rehumanize urban environments, both in terms of scale and in
enhancing a sense of belonging. Further, it must increase social cohesion, counter segregation (social and
spatial) and uneven distribution of wealth, and aim for more equitable distribution and access to urban
resources and more integration and connection among residents.

With these goals in mind, the Habitat III issue paper calls for more systematic and comprehensive cul-
turally sensitive urban development models.2 This recognizes that culture has historically been a driving
force of urban development, that a variety of innovative practices to integrate cultural assets into urban
development strategies are now observed throughout the world, and that culture is now firmly recognized
by the international community as a key component of strategic urban planning and a key innovation for
the definition of a New Urban Agenda.3

As many reports have documented, cities and towns are hubs of innovation in the economic, cultural, and
social realms. The goal of re-humanizing the city through culture-sensitive urban strategies is underpinned
by principles and inclusive processes of access, representation, and participation. In the context of defin-
ing a new people-centred and planet-sensitive sustainable development agenda, cities are transformative
platforms. However, the transformative potential of cities has not yet been fully harnessed by international
agencies, national governments, or local authorities.

To create a new culturally sensitive urban development model, the role of cultural practices and values in
sustainable development must be explicitly recognized, supported, and integrated into planning and policy
in a systematic and comprehensive way. In the context of Habitat III and the implementation of the Global
Sustainable Development Goals, this policy paper proposes ways to integrate and operationalize culture
in the sustainable development of cities, and aims to identify pathways to include culture in integrated
sustainability planning and implementation processes.4

1 UNESCO for United Nations Task Team on Habitat III, 2015

2 p. 2
3 pp. 3-4
4 In this report, the term cities is used to include cities, towns, and settlements of all sizes. Smaller and medium-sized settlements
are increasingly the source of new jobs, promoters of well-being and balanced lifestyles, and innovators of new approaches to
community change and transition.

6
 THE ROAD TRAVELLED
Global narratives relating culture and development have evolved significantly in recent decades. Not too
long ago, culture was often understood as a barrier to development and something to overcome5 but,
gradually, positive connections between culture and sustainable development have become a part of global
discourses.6

Cities, culture, and sustainable development

In 1996, Habitat II, the City Summit, brought culture into global debates on urbanization. Culture was
recognized as an integral part of peoples well-being, and local development and equity were linked with
acknowledging diversity in cultural heritages and values. Through the Habitat II Agenda goal of Sustain-
able Human Settlements in an Urbanizing World, national heads of state and governments committed
themselves to developing societies that make efficient use of resources within the carrying capacity of
ecosystems. At they same time they also committed to provide all people, in particular those belonging to
vulnerable and disadvantaged groups, equal opportunities for a healthy, safe, and productive life in har-
mony with nature and their cultural heritage, and their spiritual and cultural values; and a life that ensures
economic and social development and environmental protection, thereby contributing to the achievement
of national sustainable development.7

As a result of a large array of efforts internationally, especially since 2000 from local to international-scale,
and involving scholars, practitioners, planners, and policy-makers at various government levels culture
is gradually becoming recognized in principle as a cross-cutting issue in local/urban sustainable develop-
ment.8 The Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments (facilitated by UCLG) acknowledges the
need to explicitly include culture in the paradigm of sustainable cities:

Culture will be key in the success of sustainable development policies, as driver and
enabler of development and people-centered societies. A holistic and integrated approach to
development needs to take creativity, heritage, knowledge and diversity into account. Poverty
is not just a question of material conditions and income, but also of lack of capabilities and
opportunities, including in cultural terms.9

The Taskforce contends that, without culture, there is no future for cities: cities need vitality, meaning,
identity and innovation, and citizens need to widen their freedoms.10

However, operationalizing roles for culture within the context of sustainable urban development policy and
planning remains challenging. The relationship between culture and sustainable development is not thor-
oughly understood, and the integration of culture within broader holistic urban planning and development
continues to be an issue due to both conceptual and operational issues. Conceptually, there are multiple
ways of viewing cultures relationship with sustainability (see Figure 1), and myths about culture continue
to circulate that present obstacles to fully integrating culture into urban development planning and strate-
gies these are addressed later in Part I.

5 Hooper, 2005; Clammer, 2014

6 Soini and Birkeland, 2014; Dessein et al., 2015; UNESCO, 2015
7 parag. 42, Habitat II Agenda
8 Pascual, 2009; Duxbury, Cullen, and Pascual, 2012; Duxbury and Jeannotte, 2012; Hosagrahar, 2012b, 2013; Hristova, Dragievi
ei, and Duxbury, 2015; UNESCO, 2015; Hosagrahar et al., 2016
9 Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, 2014, p. 3
10 Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments, 2014, p. 3

7
 Figure 1: Culture and sustainable development: three models

Source: Dessein et al., 2015

Global initiatives linking culture and sustainable

development
The world has changed a lot since 1996, with rapid urbanization and hyper-globalization bringing with them
numerous tensions and contradictions in urban areas. Some of these tensions are economic, such as the
bitter effects of the recent global financial crisis; tensions due to inadequate mechanisms for governance at
the local, global, and regional levels; social tensions exacerbated by persistence of poverty and discrimination
worldwide; the pressures of migration, both regional and transnational; and environmental tensions due to
ecosystems threatened by uncontrolled flows of energy and waste. Globalization also involves many cultural
tensions, and since 1996 there have been greater attempts to include culture in the international policy frame-
works of development (see Annex 1), but they have not yet been fully integrated.

Recent approaches have been aimed at the explicit integration of culture in the definition of the post-2015
Development Agenda. For example, the #culture2015goal campaign of leading regional and international
NGOs published several documents, including Declaration on the Inclusion of Culture in the Sustainable
Development Goals (1 May 2014).11 This document called on governments and policymakers defining
the post-2015 UN Development Agenda to ensure that culture is included as part of the Sustainable Devel-
opment Goals, with specific goals, targets, and indicators. UNESCOs International Conference on Culture
for Sustainable Cities and the resulting Hangzhou Outcomes (December 2015) aimed at identifying the
key role of culture and cultural heritage in contributing to the New Urban Agenda for making cities safe,
sustainable, livable, and resilient. The ICOMOS Concept note on Culture and Sustainable Development12
is also aimed at highlighting the role of and entry points for culture and cultural heritage in the UN SDGs
(particularly Goal 11) and the New Urban Agenda.

The final Sustainable Development Goals (and Targets), approved by the UNs General Assembly at the
Special Summit on Sustainable Development held in New York on 25-27 September 2015, mentions

11 International Federation of Arts Councils and Cultural Agencies (IFACCA), United Cites and Local Governments Committee on
Culture, International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, and Cultural Action Europe. 2013
12 Hosagrahar et al., 2016

8
 culture in four areas (education, economic growth, consumption and production patterns, and sustainable
cities) but fails to identify culture as a stand-alone goal. Heritage, both natural and cultural, is included as
a Target within Goal 11, which is also known as the Urban Goal.

When the Goals and Targets were initially published in the Open Working Group proposal for Sustainable
Development Goals13, the #culture2015goal campaign observed it takes an instrumental view of culture
and does not fully embrace its full potential, despite the many UN debates and resolutions, the evidence pro-
vided by the diversity of projects made possible by the MDG Achievement Fund and the existence of a global
constituency representing millions that strives to fulfill cultures role as driver and enabler of development.

As the campaign pointed out, policymakers must recall that national strategies need to be adapted to their
cultural context to be effective [and] that a broad understanding of skills and capacities should prevail,
including the ability of key stakeholders to be sensitive to cultural aspects, recognize cultural diversity and
heritage and embrace creativity. In this vein, the Sustainable Development Goals should be underpinned by
strategies integrating knowledge in a broad sense, beyond a narrow understanding of data and indicators.

Leading thinking and policy approaches in this area have been increasingly aimed at cross-thematic inte-
gration (or mainstreaming) of culture across all policy domains. We believe that the key actions for local
sustainable development in the next decades will be located in the interconnections among civic domains,
interlinking concerns such as heritage, housing, physical planning, inclusion, mobility, culture, nature,
resilience, and governance. Positive transformations will be generated through the interrelation and in-
tegration of these domains. In these approaches, the incorporation of cultural considerations will be key
to ensuring that the paradigm of sustainability is meaningful to people, incorporating local histories and
knowledges, resonating with local identities, and truly building from the aspirations of local communities.

At the same time, culture must not be made invisible through integrative approaches. The distinctive
features and benefits of cultural expressions, activities, and a diversity of approaches must be appreciated
and nurtured, and culture and cultural heritage conserved and safeguarded through informed, intelligent,
and sensitive cultural policies.

HOW LOCAL CULTURES

CONTRIBUTE TO THE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF CITIES
Culture is integral to human development. Culture is the fabric for the dynamic construction of individual
and collective identities. The active participation of people in local cultural activities (such as poetry, dance,
sculpture, theatre, music, etc.) improves their quality of life and well-being and enhances life opportunities
and options. Local cultures encompass the traditional, long-standing, and evolving cultures of a territory
as well as the cultures of new arrivals to the area and the evolutionary and hybrid transformations that
evolve from living and creating within culturally diverse contexts. Local cultural vitality and its dynamic
transmission and growth are desirable ends in themselves.

Local cultures are also resources to address challenges and find appropriate solutions to issues that concern
citizens, and can be a means of encouraging social integration and peace. Within a sustainable develop-

13 United Nations, 2014

9
 ment context, local cultural policies put community development at the core: culture is both a key tool and
a core aspect of the social fabric, promoting cohesion, conviviality, and citizenship.

Culturally informed urban development can inspire more participatory processes: cultures provide knowl-
edge about our existence as inhabitants of our cities and as citizens of the world. We all need to learn about
the past of our city, so that we can own it and propel this identity and local knowledge into the future. Lo-
cal cultures allow citizens to gain ownership of the city, and to meet and learn from one another in short,
culture is a means through which citizens feel they belong to their city. In particular, a culturally sensitive
and gendered approach can empower marginalized individuals and communities to participate in cultural
and political life. New imaginations of the urban can transform citizens sense of place and sense of self.

Furthermore, as the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network has pointed out, effective
participation in economic and political life requires a broader, more holistic framework of learning [that]
encompasses literacy and numeracy as well as physical well-being, social and cognitive skills, problem
solving and learning abilities, culture and the arts, critical thinking, and science and technology.14

Cities use local cultural resources and creativity to inspire, catalyze, and drive social and economic change,
enhancing local resiliency and development potential. Cultural actions and expressions can also catalyze
environmental reclamation processes and inspire actions to improve environmental health and enhance
social connections with the ecosystems of local places. Cultural activities and means for expression contrib-
ute to building capacities needed to achieve greater understanding and to generate transformative change
in both urban and rural environments.

Cultural resources and institutions within a region vary with the scale of urban areas. Large, major cultural
institutions are usually located in major cities with smaller ones located in smaller towns. Cities also have a
concentration of culture industries, as well as of producers and consumers of cultural goods and services.
Cultural services and market linkages, as well as the degree of diversity, are also different for large metropol-
itan centers in comparison with small towns. In a globalizing world, the importance of a distinctive urban
identity and development is heightened as a way to counter rapid homogenization.15 Culture is used as a
lever and catalyst for economic development and urban regeneration, to articulate shared identity and as a
source of new ideas, and is widely recognized as a key aspect of quality of life and well-being of citizens.
UNESCO is currently preparing a Global Report looking at the challenges and potentials of integrating
urban heritage in sustainable development in different regions across the world (forthcoming in 2016), to
contribute to the UN Habitat III in Quito in 2016. Many communities with traditional identities value their
collective right to express that identity derived through history, place, and tradition.

In valuing culture and cultural diversity, rights-based approaches are crucial. Indigenous knowledges,
cultures, and traditional practices, as recognized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indig-
enous Peoples (2007), contribute greatly to the diversity and richness of civilizations and cultures, which
collectively constitute the common heritage of humankind. Indigenous peoples have the right to determine
and develop priorities and strategies for development, and local governments are essential bodies to guar-
antee this process. The rights of women, children, and other marginalized groups are equally significant
to consider as cultural policies cannot reinforce or justify any form of exclusion or oppression as being
cultural.16

14 UN-SDSN, 2014, p. 12, emphasis added

15 Pascual, 2006
16 Hosagrahar, 2012a

10
 CURRENT ISSUES
AND QUESTIONS
Although we have travelled a long road and the number of travellers has grown and diversified during this
journey there is still much work to do. As a network of European scholars examining this issue point out,
incorporating culture in the sustainability debates seems to be a great scientific and political challenge.17

Integrating culture into local and regional sustainable development contexts adds additional complexities of
place and socio-cultural resonance to the planning and policy frameworks needed for culturally sensitive ur-
ban development models. In order to incorporate culture in the sustainability debates, the challenges must
be explicitly addressed: the prevailing myths about culture that continue to seep into policy discussions and
block progress to integrating culture into urban development in more systematic and comprehensive ways
must be dissipated. In this final section of Part I, we focus on conceptual and operational challenges. In
Part II, the paper puts forward a series of policy proposals and recommendations, based on leading city
practices internationally and illustrated through a series of examples.

Conceptual challenges: myths that still circulate

This section aims to identify the main misconceptions around culture and their underlying assumptions about
the place of culture in the sustainable development of cities. It articulates the myths and aims to counter and
dissipate them, providing constructive and positive counter-narratives and recommendations.

17 Dessein et al., 2015, p. 14

11
 The culture of a place is fixed and History clearly shows that identities of local communities
MYTH 1

COUNTER-NARRATIVE
timeless. Culture does not belong change over time. Cultural policies, based on human
to people. There are essential rights, can be understood as an opportunity to jointly an-
features in the identity of the city alyze the past, acknowledge all the components that have
and in the behaviour of people shaped it, and involve all citizens living in a place to build
at a local level that cannot be new meanings together. Culture belongs to all people that
questioned. Local identities are live in a place. Identities are always being built. Identity
inherited and changeless. We can- has ceased to be a predetermining factor in a community,
not modify identities; we just need but its construction has become a key factor in communal
to transmit this identity to future projects. Identity is not a starting point; identity has be-
generations. come a negotiable destiny. It is important that this process
is pluralistic and democratic.

Everything about cultural traditions The UN Declaration of Human Rights is universal. Culture is
COUNTER-NARRATIVE
MYTH 2

and practices is good and must be an integral part of human rights (article 27), and no one may
conserved and safeguarded. Local invoke culture to infringe upon the human rights of individu-
or national sustainable development als, guaranteed by international law, nor to limit their scope.
must respect cultural beliefs, practices, The human rights framework best allows alternative ideas
and traditions and cannot change any to emerge and flourish. The right to participate in cultural
aspect of them. It is legitimate to use life (according to the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on
culture to justify behaviours and prac- Cultural Rights, Ms. Farida Shaheed17) has three essential
tices that infringe upon human rights. and interdependent dimensions: creativity, access to cultural
Local traditions must be prioritized over heritage, and diversity. All human rights are interconnected
human rights. Local circumstances and its integrality must be respected. Those cultural practices
and traditions of groups are more that infringe upon the human rights of individuals must be
important than individuals. modified to conform to the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
Cultural relativism of human rights is not acceptable.

Culture is an obstruction to real Culture can either facilitate or obstruct development

MYTH 3

COUNTER-NARRATIVE

development. If you emphasize agendas. The role of culture for sustainable development is
historic heritage, or traditions, or hence crucial and depends on ensuring cultural rights and
inclusion of disadvantaged people, access for all: making sure that every woman, man, and
economic development cannot be child can access, take part in, and contribute to cultural
as fast as it should be. Econom- life and all this implies. Development only understood in
ic development is the absolute economic terms (i.e., fast growth without redistribution,
priority. All frameworks, resources, leaving people aside, without pluralism) is neither effective
and efforts should be devoted to nor sustainable. Culture is an important component of
that. Culture is secondary to more development. It is the sphere where ideas, behaviours, and
important purposes. practices can be discussed in a pluralistic and democratic
society. Cultural heritage, creativity, and diversity are the
foundations for the humane, inclusive, holistic, and long-
term development of cities.

17 Shaheed, 2015, p. 2

12
 Culture is a luxury we cannot Unless culture is taken into account explicitly as a key
MYTH 4

COUNTER-NARRATIVE
afford. At a local level, there enabler, sustainable development will not take place. De-
are other priorities: fresh water, velopment interventions may succeed or fail depending on
decent jobs, adequate housing, how compatible they are with local culture.18 Human beings
education, etc. Culture can only live in communities. We share and discuss ideas on how to
to be considered once other improve our lives. As Patrice Meyer-Bisch says, culture is
more important social needs are the right to experience knowledge, beauty, and reciprocity,
addressed. which cannot be regarded as something additional once
every individuals fundamental needs have been fulfilled.19
Culture includes the circulation of knowledge, and therefore
of meaning. It is located at the very base of the ecosystemic
links among ecology, economics, politics, and social fabric.

Culture is something that should Culture must be recognized as a core element in local urban
COUNTER-NARRATIVE
MYTH 5

be left to the market. Cultural policies. The cities that solely see culture as a commodity or
goods and services are just com- a resource to attract investments and improve branding are
modities, as any other, that are recognizing only a limited number of cultural manifestations.
naturally included in the individual Cultural vitality is an absolute necessity to city life because it
and household expenditure as a permeates all spheres of living and lies at the foundation of
matter of taste. Cities should only freedoms, the public exchange of ideas, and societal well-
invest in cultural infrastructure being. These dimensions infuse meaningful sustainable de-
and events if there is an economic velopment, which is experienced at a local level and requires
return (e.g., tourism, city brand- local spaces for public debate and decision-making. It is vital
ing). for local governments to provide environments that actively
encourage public, democratic debate and decision-making.
Indeed, they must create spaces where the citizens can exer-
cise their rights, expand their abilities, lead the present, and
decide on the future.

Challenges to operationalizing culture in local development

Operational challenges derive both from underlying conceptual uncertainties and from the challenges and
resistance faced in implementing local cultural policies and plans more generally.

There is a duality to the policy approaches that need to be developed for culture. On one hand, the im-
portance of working in harmony with local culture and values is widely acknowledged, leading to an array
of local transversal experimentation to include culture in integrated planning and policy approaches for
social inclusion or economic growth. A diverse range of approaches recognize, incorporate, and build upon
local tangible and intangible cultural heritages and other cultural assets and resources. On the other hand,
culture must also be addressed as a domain in its own right. Cultural assets deserve expert attention. Pro-
tecting cultural heritage (tangible and intangible), promoting creativity, or acknowledging cultural diversity
require suitable policies, based on expertise (in content and in methodology). Mainstreaming culture does
not mean that culture is considered only as a transversal dimension and hence less visible and less pres-
ent for development projects and in peoples minds. Rather, mainstreaming is a way of including cultural
considerations in all activities.

18 Hosagrahar, 2012b
19 Meyer-Bisch, 2013

13
 Operational challenges are embedded in perspectives and approaches of professional practices as well as
organizational cultures, bureaucratic processes, and historic norms. In addition to the conceptual challeng-
es and myths outlined in the previous section, which often find their way to become formally or implicitly
embedded in organizational policies and professional worldviews, operationalization issues can be charac-
terized into four general categories:

1. LIMITATIONS DUE TO LEGISLATIVE FRAMEWORKS, TARGETED POLICIES,

BUREAUCRATIC SILOS, AND ADMINISTRATIVE RELUCTANCE

2. THE COMPLEXITY OF THE CULTURAL SECTOR AND THE CULTURAL

FEATURES OF THE COMMUNITY

3. INADEQUACY OF INDICATORS, MEASUREMENT, AND EVALUATION OF PROGRESS

AND IMPACTS

4. UNDERLYING ISSUES OF CITIZEN PARTICIPATION, ATTENTION TO

GENDER, AND OVERCOMING SEGMENTATION

In each of these areas, practitioners are addressing intertwined issues and concerns to advance profes-
sional practices, develop more effective tools and techniques, and improve performance and outcomes
of urban planning and development. Categories 1 and 4 extend beyond issues of culture and encompass
challenges related to the development and implementation of integrated planning and cross-sectoral gover-
nance and planning approaches, as well as inclusive citizen engagement. Categories 2 and 3 relate more
closely to challenges in understanding and nurturing the multifaceted dimensions of cultural practices and
expressions and the diverse ways they are enacted, have influenced, and impact societys changes and
development.

For example, some of the questions and issues that arise are:

1. LIMITATIONS DUE Legislative frameworks, cultural policies, and support programmes have tradition-
TO LEGISLATIVE ally been tailored to the needs of particular sectors. How can sector-specific ap-
FRAMEWORKS, proaches be reconciled with broad-based, intersectoral, people-centered policies?
TARGETED
POLICIES, Policy and programmes for urban sustainability are primarily about environmen-
BUREAUCRATIC tal issues and creating a greener city. How can urbanisation and physical plan-
SILOS, AND
ning embrace heritage and culture and integrate them into urban sustainability
ADMINISTRATIVE
RELUCTANCE policy frameworks and programmes?

Difficulties encountered with implementing a cross-sector approach, especially

integrating culture in urban planning and economic policies.

Reluctance on the part of sustainable development actors, guardians of the

three-pillar system, to explicitly incorporate cultural dimensions and actors.

14
 2. THE COMPLEXITY Misunderstandings of the word culture and its different meanings or ambiguities:
OF THE CULTURAL e.g., culture as way of life and culture as art.
SECTOR AND THE
CULTURAL The complexity of the artistic world, with its great diversity of approaches and
FEATURES OF practices, from the individual to the collective, may produce a silo effect that is
THE COMMUNITY often hostile to people-centered cultural policies.

Cultural diversity can be a source of social tension when it is used by actors not
fully committed to inclusive democracy.

How do local media inform and relate to residents in the city? Issues regarding the
invisibility of local diversity in media are widely felt, relating to concerns about
access to media and the creation of new media outlets.

3. INADEQUACY OF Culture cannot be measured and monitored like other areas of sustainability since it
INDICATORS, has important non-quantifiable and invisible dimensions. UNESCO has done some
MEASUREMENT, important work in the area of indicators for culture in development.20 How can we
AND EVALUATION know that culture is contributing to strengthening and enriching local sustainability,
OF PROGRESS resilience, and holistic development?
AND IMPACTS
Some measurement or assessment criteria are essential because cultural policies are,
like other public policies, subject to a democratic imperative of transparency and
effectiveness. The value and effectiveness of cultural policies cannot be left to the
domain of the subjective. It is possible, however, to focus on stages of improvement
(qualitative criteria) rather than on quantitative criteria.

4. UNDERLYING How can we encourage and stimulate the democratic participation of citizens
ISSUES OF in the formulation, exercise, and evaluation of public policies on culture?
CITIZEN PARTICI-
PATION, GENDER How can greater citizen participation in governance be balanced with pro-
EQUALITY, AND fessional expertise to best assess cultural proposals and organizations?
OVERCOMING
Are cultural policies and programmes sensitive to and promote gender equality?
SEGMENTATION
What strategies should be considered to place the issue of gender at the
centre of cultural policies? How can cultural policies be used to advance the
empowerment of women?

20 UNESCO, 2014

15
PART II.
POLICY PROPOSALS
AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
 OPPORTUNITIES FOR
AND CHALLENGES OF
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
Local governments occupy a strategically important space between global developments and forces and
geographically broader-scope governments, and citizen-driven movements, innovations, and energies. Lo-
cal governments form a vital bridge between citizens and communities, on the one side, and national
governments and the international frameworks, on the other side. In the area of culture, some roles include
creating and activating spaces for dialogue and action; setting priorities and planning, designing, imple-
menting, and monitoring policies and programmes; developing infrastructure; and enabling environments
and structures relating to a variety of transformative functions within the territory.

In cities, cultures are dynamic (not static), intrinsically diverse, and multifaceted, incorporating a range of
expressions and values embodied in built and intangible heritage, contemporary arts, collective and indi-
vidual activities, and particular features that characterize distinct ways of life. This diversity of cultures,
heritages, and knowledges is a vital part of cities, integral to their identity and dynamism as hubs of social
and human development. Culture provides identity, agency, and tools for communities to fight poverty.21

In the context of people-centred sustainable development, and growing inequalities, there is a rising focus
on building collective citizen capacities. New means of developing and implementing policy and pro-
grammes, often through untraditional partnerships and involving distributed knowledges and resources,
are emerging in many areas to address the complexities of specific local issues.

The following section outlines different policies and practices that local governments can use to support
culture as a driver and an enabler of sustainable development in cities. Proposals and recommendations
are based on the problems we have identified and a review of good examples of local policy practices, in all
continents, illustrated through a series of examples of ways to successfully operationalize culture in urban
sustainable development.

21 High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2013.

17
POLICY PROPOSALS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS
1. Culture for peace and social cohesion

Dig Your Neighbourhood

as a basis for sustainable development

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
Culture enables citizen partic- Local cultures and cultural
ipation, community empow- approaches can offer new
erment, and social cohesion ways of tackling complex
as it promotes grassroots social issues and address-
JEJU PROVINCE, SOUTH MILAN, ITALY FORUM TAMAULIPAS, MEXICO KELOWNA, CANADA DIG
processes that build recogni- ing neighbourhood prob- KOREA LINKING TRAD- DELLA CITT MONDO NETWORK OF YOUTH AND YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD
tion and connections within lems, and promote un- ITION/NEWCOMERS, COMMUNITY CULTURE
The City of Milano has an active A bundle of creative projects, given to
communities. derstanding and exchange CULTURE/NATURE, AND platform that connects migrant
GROUPS newcomers, provide locally generated
among different groups. ACCESS groups. The work of Tamaulipas with visions of the cultural, historical, and
Cultural programmes can Cultural policies of Jeju relate nature community culture groups has ecological dimensions of their new
to culture, and connect traditions contributed to social cohesion. neighbourhood.
accelerate the rootedness of Cultural policies can foster
with creativity.
newcomers including new intercultural dialogue and
migrants. conflict resolution, which
sometimes originate from
Local cultural activities and misunderstandings and a
expressions can provide lack of careful explanations
knowledge, heighten aware- of the contexts that make
ness, and foster processes up the identity of individuals
that also relate inhabitants and communities.
to the past, the present, and
the future of a city. Memorialization processes,
to preserve memories of
people or events, involving
Agenda 21 culture

cultural actors, are essential

steps to secure peace.

LIMA, PERU LIVING

COMMUNITY CULTURE
The involvement of the community
in active cultural activities is at the
centre of the programme.

18 19
2. Culture and economic development

Agenda 21 culture
Culture contributes to eco- Local cultural activities and
nomic progress in a multi- expressions can be har-
tude of ways. Local culture nessed as drivers for inclu-
forms the basis of cultural sive economic and social de-
and creative industries, velopment. Heritage, cultural

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
activities that crosscut the industries, arts and crafts,
social, the cultural, and the sustainable cultural tourism,

WEAVE
economic. and cultural infrastructure
can be strategic tools for
The production of goods and revenue and employment
services incorporates a very generation. Cultural diversity PEKALONGAN CITY, MYANMAR WOMENS ROSARIO, ARGENTINA LINZ, AUSTRIA
strong cultural component. can be connected to eco- INDONESIA BATIK-BASED EDUCATION FOR THE WORKSHOP OPEN COMMONS REGION
nomic progress and become CREATIVE ECONOMY ADVANCEMENT AND In Rosario, the Workshop has become The Open Commons aims at providing
On one hand, traditional EMPOWERMENT (WEAVE)
crafts are highly valued economically productive. The economic actors and the cultural an active player in promoting inno- a digital platform for all inhabitants
actors of Pekalongan have worked Among its programs, WEAVE provides vation and the social economy. of Linz.
internationally and, on the
together to support batik industries. safe employment opportunities
other hand, more and more Recognize that cultural for women based on traditional
mass consumption prod- activities can foster entre- craft-making skills.
ucts (from cars to clothing) preneurship capacity and
include cultural designs. The skills: participation in local
value of consumer items is cultural activities generates
closely linked to their design skills such as being able to
and symbolic significance: speak in public, being able
companies look to cultural to continuously learn and

Guillermo Ginitti
expressions and processes appreciate new perspectives,
to develop unique products, and being able to generate
communicate more effective- a suitable climate of part-
ly, and look for new ways to nership all fundamental to
stand out. human development.
Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
Local cultures provide Although culture has been
content for cinema, online one of the fastest growing
products, games, and other sectors of the economy,
communication conduits: generating income, employ-
digital technologies provide ment, and new businesses,
new forms of social and it still suffers from high levels BILBAO, BASQUE COUN- LA PLATA, ARGENTINA OUAGADOUGOU, BURKINA
economic exchanges and of precarious work. Policies TRY, SPAIN BCREATIVE THEATER TRAINING FOR FASO REEMDOOGO
contribute significantly and programmes should be PROGRAMME UNEMPLOYED YOUTH MUSIC GARDEN
to new types of creative sensitive to this situation, Through the BCreative programme, A vocational school for the performing Reemdoogo focuses on the artistic
economies. address it when possible, the City recognizes and promotes arts in La Plata in Argentina, set up and professional education of city
and take care not to intensify the strategic role of the cultural with the support of Fundacion Teatro youth, linking multiple dimensions
industries in local socioeconomic Agentino de La Plata aims to bring of culture: from its intrinsic values,
this instability.
development. the performing arts to a broader to processes of employment creation,
audience and trains unemployed to social cohesion and urban con-
youth in theater arts including set struction of the city.
design.

20 21
3. Culture in local policy-making

Agenda 21 culture
Local governments should A cultural lens and assess-

William Lake: Imagine Our Future

focus cultural policies on ment guide for all policies
citizens and their priori- and development decisions
ties rather than serve the can help identify, document,
interests of the professional and enhance cultural di-

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
elites of the cultural sector. mensions in local planning
and development actions
Citizen-based policies can and may mitigate possible
be a powerful tool to drive negative impacts.
sustainable development.
This approach goes beyond A variety of guidance docu- MALM, SWEDEN MEDELLIN, COLOMBIA AUSTRALIA NATIONAL CANADA INTEGRATED
encouraging greater partic- ments on heritage manage- CULTURAL POLICIES AND CULTURAL POLICY(IES) LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMUNITY SUSTAIN-
ACTIONS AND PLAN CULTURAL FORUM ABILITY PLANS
ipation rates in the cultural ment and local development
events that are offered, to would also be important. In Malm, the cultural policies The long-term cultural policies have The Forum enables local govern- These local, long-term community
explicitly connect culture to people- greatly contributed to the develop- ments to develop and articulate a sustainability plans in Canada have
diversifying the cultural offer
centered sustainability. ment of Medellin. national perspective on local cultural considered culture as the fourth
and opportunities available, Local governments that are development and strengthens their pillar of sustainability.
and to integrating the direct nimble and can respond capacity in community arts and
participation of citizens in quickly to the needs of their cultural development.
the development of urban population(s) can flexibly
policies. adapt their policies and
actions to sustainable devel-
Traditional roles for local opment pathways.

Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tmaki Paenga Hira

governments, civic society,
and private enterprises are

CUltural Resource Conservation Initiative

increasingly blurred, with
each having distinct as well
as shared interests. Collabo-
rative goverance approaches
build intersectoral bridges
Agenda 21 culture

and comprise a leading

trend for local governments.

CONCEPCIN, CHILE NEW ZEALAND CULTURAL PUNJAB, INDIA - PUNJAB STATE

CULTURAL STRATEGIC IMPACT ASSESSMENTS CULTURAL HERITAGE POLICY
PLAN This framework documents Mori
AND HERITAGE ACTION PLAN
Concepcin has elaborated a long- cultural values, interests, and asso- The Government of Punjab has devel-
term cultural strategy with actors ciations with an area or a resource, oped a Vision, a Strategic Framework,
and citizens. and the potential impacts of a pro- and an action plan to implement
posed activity on them. the policy. The cultural policy also
addresses development goals such as
fostering the local economy through
the protection of cultural heritage in
Pujab as well as improving livelihood
and security for cultural practitioners.

22 23
4. Citizenship, participation and democracy

Montral City
Cultural action department, City of Angers
Promote cultural diversity Respect for the value of
and cultural activities with a diversity requires the inte-
renewed concept of citizen- gration of both multicultural
ship at the local level, based strategies that recognize
on residency rather than na- people with different cul-

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
tionally defined criteria. This tural backgrounds who live
shift is particularly relevant together, and intercultural
for migrants, young people, strategies that create bonds
and women. between them.

Cultural diversity is an asset PORTO ALEGRE, RIO ANGERS, FRANCE MONTRAL, QUBEC, HOI AN, VIETNAM
for sustainable development Make cultural policies and
GRANDE DO SUL, BRAZIL CULTURE AND SOLIDARI- CANADA SUSTAINABLE CULTURAL POLICY
DECENTRALIZATION OF TY CHARTER CULTURAL DISTRICTS An integrated approach that includes
and a catalyst for new ideas. programmes inclusive and CULTURE
In divided and post-conflict promote gender equality. The Charter places the inhabitants of A multi-pronged strategy to instill culture is implemented by the urban
The involvement of inhabitants is a Angers at the centre of local cultural a deep-rooted sense of culture policies of Hoi An.
places where violence has Consider strategies to place key element of Porto Alegres cultural policies. throughout the citys territory.
been experienced, culture the issue of gender equal- policy.
can play a positive role in ity at the centre of cultural
building a more peaceful policies. There is a need to
society. value, promote, and increase
the visibility and status of
Access to cultural services cultural activities that are
and active participation in carried out predominantly
cultural processes are import- by women.
ant to enable people who are
marginalized, impoverished,
or in otherwise in disadvan-
taged situations to overcome
their difficulties and actively
participate in their own inclu-

Agenda 21 culture
City of Yopougon

sion in society.

HRIDAY India
YOPOUGON, IVORY COAST RAMALLAH, PALESTINE INDIA HRIDAY
CULTURAL POLICY DECENTRALIZATION OF PROGRAMME FOR 12
The city is committed to a long-term
CULTURAL POLICY HISTORIC CITIES
vision of making culture one of the The cultural policies of Ramallah are The Government of India launched
cornerstones of the Communes people-centered and have become a the national Heritage City Devel-
development. model for Palestinian municipalities. opment and Augmentation Yojana
(HRIDAY) in January 2015. It sup-
ports development of core heritage
infrastructure projects which shall
include revitalization of urban infra-
structure for areas around heritage
assets identified.

24 25
5. Cultural heritage

Ockpoptok
Cultural heritage has multiple Urban development plans and
forms and is a resource for policies need to be integrated
the construction of the identi- with heritage conservation and
ties of people and communi- creative practices.
ties. Intangible heritage and

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
the meanings and practices Urban planning that does not
around built heritage are alive

Ockpoptok
explicitly consider cultural
and constantly evolving. They issues has negative im-
should be integrated into life pacts on the preservation of
and society in dynamic ways. heritage. It also prevents the
Cities can enable processes to exercise of memory, creativity, BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA BANDA ACEH, INDONESIA DELHI, INDIA HUMA- LOAS OCK POP TOK
enhance a sense of belonging and coexistence, promotes
EMILIO BALCARCE TAN- POST-TSUMANI CULTURAL YUNS TOMB, SUNDAR This NGO is a social enterprise
with local heritage through GO ORCHESTRA SCHOOL HERITAGE PROJECT NURSERY, AND HAZRAT working in the field of textiles,
homogenization, and limits NIZAMMUDIN BASTI
people-centered stories (vs. opportunities to access and In Buenos Aires, music, heritage, The whole community is involved handicrafts and design to bring
official heritage). education, and neighbourhood in planning and implementing this Restoring tangible heritage and traditional craft to contemporary
participate in cultural life. revitalization go together. cultural heritage project. reviving and safeguarding intangible markets.
cultural elements while promoting
Culture explains and gives Detailed inventories and local livelihoods.
meaning to the identity of mappings of cultural heritage
people and societies, often need to be undertaken be-
related to the founding land, yond those selected buildings
to place, to landscapes, and already listed.
to mountains, seas, and riv-
ers. Leading thinking about
landscapes recognizes that
all territories (even degraded
ones) hold environmental,
cultural, and other values
Erik Levilly - City of Le Havre

that are worthy of preserving

and re-valuing.

Kanazawa City

LE HAVRE, FRANCE KANAZAWA, JAPAN

MILITARY SITE REDEVEL- CREATIVE CITY STEERING
OPMENT TO MULTICUL- PROGRAM
TURAL PUBLIC SITE A creative city and economic devel-
The fortress of Le Havre was turned opment model based in the spirit of
into a cultural site after a participatory craftism, an insistence on quality
process. and originality with deep roots in
local heritage.

26 27
6. Territorial planning, cultural infrastructure,

Kala Ghoda Association

and public space
Public space is a place of Heritage impact assessment
social interaction as well and cultural impact assess-
as key for the identity and ments should be carried out
landscape of the city. As a before any major develop-

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
common good, it belongs to ment activity or intervention
all inhabitants and it has a in a city is undertaken.
systemic relation with other
common goods such as cul- Cultural infrastructure can
ture or education. develop participatory spaces
for public dialogue, iterative ZARAGOZA, ARAGON, BELO HORIZONTE, MINAS MUMBAI, INDIA KALA RIO DE JANEIRO, RJ, BRAZIL
Urban design and infra- steering, and local manage- SPAIN EL GANCHO GERAIS, BRAZIL GHODA ART DISTRICT CINECARIOCA
structure must have cultural ment. These participatory NEIGHBOURHOOD REGIONAL CULTURAL A historic precinct has been brought The cinema became a key element
REVITALIZATION/RENEWAL CENTRES alive by the Kala Ghoda Association for the empowerment of people
relevance and resonance approaches can take place at
both in design (i.e., we must all scales, that is, not only in The inhabitants of the neighbour- The cultural centres of Belo Horizonte to conserve and safeguard the heri- living in the neighborhood.
hood are the key actors of a major guarantee access to culture for all tage and creative practices of the art
be able to see ourselves in cultural infrastructure serving
cultural event that has been a inhabitants. district by creating a cultural hub of
the citys public space) and a neighbourhood or a com- catalyst for local revitalization. activities and grand annual event of
in use (i.e., the citys public munity, but also in national the Kala Ghoda Art Festival.
space and infrastructure must prestigious facilities.
support diverse residents to
engage in cultural practices Historic urban spaces are
and expression in the public important to conserve as the
space of the city). memory and identity of the city.

Structures and urban spaces There is an international trend

that are of local historical towards new centralities,
significance need to be which responds to the need to
conserved and maintained redistribute cultural services
as vital spaces even if their in the city (e.g., centraliza-
forms are deemed to be ar- tion/decentralization), and a
chitecturally unremarkable. growing will to recognize the
organic character of cultural
De Ceuvel

De Ceuvel
Proxy SF

City and regional development processes, that is, supporting

plans and policies, as well as the cultural initiatives where
building and zonal regula- they are born in neighbour-
tions, must be integrated with hoods, in suburban edge SAN FRANCISO, USA AMSTERDAM NORTH, LUANG PRABHANG,
culture and cultural heritage. zones, or in rural areas. PROXY NETHERLANDS DE CEUVEL LAOS COMMUNITY
This inclusion cannot be just A vibrant, collaboratively planned A heavily polluted former industrial
ADVISORY SERVICE
rhetoric, but be based on the The natural heritage of cities, neighbourhood gathering space plot is now a planned workplace for As part of an integrated approach
involvement of cultural actors including hills, water bodies, purposefully designed for temporary creative and social enterprises, while to conservation and socio-economic
in all steps of the planning and parks, is also culturally uses. turning the site into a regenerative development, established a commu-
urban oasis. nity advisory service supported by
process and lead to the identi- significant for cities. These
various partners (under the aegis of
fication of several actions with elements need careful UNESCO) to offer free technical
clear culture content. conservation, management, assistance to citizens to draw up
and integration with the city plans for renovation of houses.
development plans.

28 29
7. Culture and local communities

Hoysala Heritage Region

Participation in cultural ac- Encourage local media and
tivities fosters young people employ new technologies to
to be more imaginative and embrace and propel local
innovative: the processes of cultures into the public
creation and cultural partic- sphere of a city and to reach

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
ipation provide knowledge and engage with a wide
and techniques to imag- variety of citizens.
ine and expand horizons,
integrate diverse elements, Explicitly include a cultural
and create something new. dimension in neighbourhood
Cultural experiences can be regeneration strategies, com- VAUDREUIL-DORION, BELO HORIZONTE, MINAS BELUR-HALEBIDU, INDIA MONTRAL, QUBEC,
important platforms for the bining basic cultural public QUBEC, CANADA GERAIS, BRAZIL OPEN URBAN CONSERVATION CANADA CULTURAL
development of capacities services for all, new infra-
JE SUIS SCHOOL FOR THE ARTS AND SUSTAINABLE ACCESS NETWORK AND
that expand self-knowledge, The city has found inspirational
ARENA DA CULTURA DEVELOPMENT CULTURAL MEDIATION
structure, and respect for civ- PROJECTS
self-expression, self-determi- ways to involve inhabitants in active Its multiple dimensions led this Offers an inclusive participatory model for
il society initiatives. Cultural
nation, and life satisfaction cultural activities: project to be the winner of the first social innovation through a comprehen- The projects guarantee that all
initiatives are essential in all >> Je suis... edition of the UCLG-Mexico Culture sive set of design and planning strategies inhabitants have access to cultural
and well-being. local urbanization processes >> Mosaic Parade 21 Award. integrating conservation of built heritage, activities.
(e.g., in slum upgrading, in safeguarding of intangible heritage, and >> Access Network
There is a need to broaden regeneration of city-centres nurturing creativity with sustainable >> Cultural Mediation
thinking about arts in edu- and urban peripheries, and development in line with the UNESCO
Historic Urban Landscape approach.
cation to arts and youth, in the creation of new dis-
as well as to encompass tricts and neighbourhoods)
arts in life-long learning. because they address key

Instituto Transformance
values around sustainability
Educational systems at all and local citizenship like
levels should include the memories and heritage,
acquisition of cultural skills creativity, diversity, shared
and knowledge pertaining knowledge, and participation.
to intercultural dialogue; the

Agenda 21 culture
Agenda 21 culture

recognition and valuing of

diversity, creativity, tangible
Dronah
and intangible heritage; and
the development of skills
using digital tools for cultural
transmission, innovative MEXICO CITY, MEXICO UDAIPUR, INDIA CONSER- BARCELONA, CATALONIA, AMAZON, BRAZIL
expression, and bridging of FACTORIES OF ARTS AND VATION MASTER PLAN FOR SPAIN CREATORS IN TRANSFORMANCE
cultures. JOBS CITY PALACE COMPLEX RESIDENCE (IN SECOND- INSTITUTE
The four Faros of Mexico City The Master Plan includes a conser-
ARY SCHOOLS) This NGO uses the arts to contribute
include training, education, public vation plan with use, interpretation, Students are actively involved in to the development of young people,
spaces, and empowerment of the tourism, environmental, and risk artistic residency projects in high democratic communities, and
community. management plans that emphasizes schools. transformative pedagogy in Brazilian
a value based and process oriented Amazon communities.
approach to conservation.

30 31
 8. Resilience and climate change

606 Project
Traditional local knowledge Culture raises awareness of
and building technologies the impacts of our ecolog-
are often best suited for local ical footprints, the need to
environmental conditions. transform production and

Ground Up Initiative
consumption patterns (e.g.,

Agenda 21 culture

Agenda 21 culture
Culture provides the local slow food, 0 km products,
knowledge for contextualized etc.), and our collective
resilience by emphasizing lo- responsibility to reconnect
cality and historical continu- our values towards a more
ities, which are key elements harmonious balance with the
in the fight against climate environment. LILLE, FRANCE BAL HANNOVER, LOWER CHICAGO, USA SINGAPORE GROUND
change and natural hazards FIVES SAXONY, GERMANY ENVIRONMENTAL SENTINAL UP INITIATIVE
The project has strongly related
TWINNING FOR A CULTURE Within a major redevelopment of an This NGO organizes a diverse array
like earthquakes and floods. Artistic activities can initiate OF SUSTAINABILITY
public dialogue, encourage the environmental and the cultural abandoned rail line, a climate-monitoring of voluntary activities to help people
dimensions of sustainability. These projects have related the local artwork of 453 temperature-sensitive, reconnect with nature and their
connections to the local
artistic communities with international native, flowering trees form a seasonal community.
environment, catalyze collec- cultural cooperation. spectacle to engage citizens and scien-
tive action, and invent more tists in understanding local microclimates
sustainable living practices. and the effects of climate change.
>> The 606 Project.
Still Moon Arts Society
>> Environmental Sentinal.
Fluid City / Water in the sustainablecity
Espace pour la Vie Montral

PomeGranate Center

City of Vancouver
DehArt
MONTREAL, QUBEC, AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA SAN DIEGO, USA PALMDALE, AZ, USA VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA
CANADA SPACE FOR LIFE FLUID CITY PROJECT STILL CREEK MOON POMEGRANATE CENTRE DESERT ENGAGEMENT RE-WILDING VANCOUVER
Space for Life brings the citys This arts-science-education collabo-
FESTIVAL MANZANITA GATHERING An eco-art program combines pre-
ACTION PLAN
Biodme, Insectarium, Botanical ration aims to foster awareness and A community-based participative
PLACE vention, awareness, and outreach The Vancouver Park Boards envi-
Garden, and Planetarium together, understanding of water issues in festival inspired neighbourhood This project demonstrates a com- through artistic engagement and ronmental education and action plan
transforming them into a major Auckland. stewardship that revitalized the munity-build training and mentoring environmental education to address recognizes community-engaged ar-
integrative and participatory space health of a local ravine and river. strategy as a sustainable community the issue of illegal dumping in near- tistic projects in its parks as import-
dedicated to the relations between development resource. by desert areas. ant elements in fostering residents
humankind and nature. interactions with nature, leading to
greater awareness, shifts in thinking,
and stewardship actions.

32 33
PART III.
CONCLUSIONS
2016 will be a very important year for urban policies. Cities will be the focus of the global
conversation on sustainable development. A New Urban Agenda will be approved at Habitat
III, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, to take
place in Quito, Ecuador (17 20 October 2016), and the association of United Cities and Local
Governments (UCLG) will approve a Global Agenda of Local and Regional Governments for the
21st Century at its World Congress to take place in Bogot (12 15 October 2016).

One thing is clear: the struggle for global sustainability is played out in cities. As a conse-
quence, local governments occupy a strategically important space between global forces and
citizen-driven movements, innovations, and energies.

We have prepared this policy paper in order to help place culture at the centre of the debates
on the sustainable development of cities. While we notice progress in the global conversation
on culture in sustainability, we are also aware that some negative narratives still circulate. In
this paper, we have identified narratives, myths, and challenges, and we have provided con-
structive and positive counter-narratives and recommendations. But we want this policy paper
to go beyond debates on ideas and narratives we want to be operational. Local governments
are, intrinsically, very operational entities at the service of the needs and the rights of people.
Thus, this policy paper puts forward a series of policy proposals, based in leading city practices
internationally and illustrated through an array of case examples.

A new people-centred and planet-sensitive sustainable development agenda requires cities to

launch inclusive processes of access, representation, and participation in culture. We need to
bring together all urban actors to work towards operationalizing a new model of sustainable
urban development that explicitly integrates culture, cultural heritage, and creativity within it.

35
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ANNEX 1.
CULTURE IN THE POLICY FRAMEWORKS OF
DEVELOPMENT: SELECTED LANDMARKS
YEAR AGENCY (GLOBAL) AGENCY (REGIONAL) EVENT/PUBLICATION

2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the

Intangible Cultural Heritage - ratified by
+150 countries

2004 Unites Cities and Local Agenda 21 for Culture - adopted

Governments (UCLG)

2004 10th Conference of Declaration of Ouagadougou - adopted

Heads of State and
Government of French-
Speaking Countries

2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promo-

tion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
- adopted, ratified by +130 countries

2006 African Union Charter for African Cultural Renaissance

2006 Organization of Ibero Iberoamerican Cultural Charter

-american States for
Education, Science and
Culture (OEI)

2007 UN UN Declaration on the Rights of Indige-

nous Peoples

2007 Fribourg Group Fribourg Declaration on Cultural Rights

2007 European Commission European Agenda for Culture

2008 African Union Plan of Action on the Cultural and Cre-

ative Industries in Africa

2009 UN Human Rights Established a post of Independent

Council Expert in the field of cultural rights for a
3-year period (extended)

2010 UN General Assembly Resolution re: connection between cul-

ture and development - adopted

2010 United Cities and Local Policy statement on Culture: Fourth Pillar
Governments (UCLG) of Sustainable Development - adopted

2011 UN General Assembly Adoption of Resolution 2 (connection

between culture and development)

2011 UNESCO Adoption of new UNESCO Recommen-

dation on the Historic Urban Landscape

40
YEAR AGENCY (GLOBAL) AGENCY (REGIONAL) EVENT/PUBLICATION

2011 ASEAN - Ministers Declaration on ASEAN Unity in Cultural

responsible for Arts and Diversity: Towards Strengthening ASEAN
Culture Community - signed

2012 Meeting of South Amer- Declaration of So Paulo on Culture and

ican Ministers and High Sustainability - adopted
Authorities on Culture
and Sustainability

2012 18th annual meeting of Manama declaration issued

Ministers of Culture of
the Arab region

2012 UN Conference on Outcome Document of the UN Confer-

Sustainable Develop- ence on Sustainable Development
ment, later endorsed by
UN General Assembly /
High-level meeting

2013 Organisation internatio- La Francophonie et les Objectifs de Dvel-

nale de la francophonie oppement Durable , Argumentaire daide
(OIF) la formulation dObjectifs de Dveloppement
Durable (ODD) relatifs la Culture

2013 France - Director- Post-2015 agenda on development,

ate-General of Global French position paper prepared with
Affairs, Development civil society
and Partnerships

2013 UN Economic Commis- Outcome Document of the Africa

sion for Africa, African Regional Consultative Meeting on the
Union Commission, and Sustainable Development Goals, Addis
African Development Bank Ababa, Ethiopia

2013 UNESCO International UNESCO Final declaration Placing Culture at

Congress Culture: Key to the Heart of Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development Policies, the Hangzhou Declaration

2013 United Nations Con- Creative Economy Report 3: Special

ference on Trade and Edition Widening Local Development
Development (UNCT- Pathways
AD), United Nations De-
velopment Programme
(UNDP), and UNESCO

2013 International Federation of Culture as a Goal in the Post-2015

Arts Councils and Culture Development Agenda published
Agencies (IFACCA),
International Federation The #culture2015goal campaign
of Coalitions for Cultural launched
Diversity (IFCCD), Agenda
21 for Culture, and Culture
Action Europe

41
YEAR AGENCY (GLOBAL) AGENCY (REGIONAL) EVENT/PUBLICATION

2013 UN General Assembly Resolution on Culture and Sustainable

Development A/RES/68/223 - adopted
requests the President of the General
Assembly to hold a one-day special
thematic debate at the highest political
level possible, by the end of 2014, to
give due consideration to the role of
culture and sustainable development in
the elaboration of the post-2015 devel-
opment agenda, and to present a chairs
summary of the debate

2014 UN General Assembly Thematic Debate on Culture and Sus-

tainable Development in the Post-2015
Development Agenda (NYC) including
Panel Discussion The power of culture
for poverty eradication and sustainable
development

2014 3rd UNESCO World Culture, Creativity and Sustainable

Forum on Culture and Development concluded with the
the Cultural Industries adoption of the Florence Declaration,
proposing recommendations on max-
imizing the role of culture to achieve
sustainable development and effective
ways of integrating culture in the Post-
2015 Development Agenda.

2015 United Cities and Local Culture 21: Actions Outlines nine
Governments (UCLG) areas of Commitments on the role of
culture in sustainable cities (approved
at the first UCLG Culture Summit, Bil-
bao, Spain)

2015 UNESCO Hangzhou Outcomes on Culture for

Sustainable Cities

2016 UNESCO Global Report on Culture for Sustain-

(in able Urban Development: Report for
prepa- UN Habitat III
ration)

42
Nancy Duxbury
Senior researcher, Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra, Portugal;
Adjunct professor, School of Communication, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada.
duxbury@ces.uc.pt

Jyoti Hosagrahar
UNESCO Chair Professor, Srishti Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, India;
Director, SUI, GSAPP, Columbia University New York.
jh2443@columbia.edu

Jordi Pascual
Associate Cultural Policies, Open University of Catalonia UOC;
Coordinator of the Committee on culture of UCLG.
coordination@agenda21culture.net

The Committee on Culture of UCLG is co-chaired by Buenos Aires and Mexico City,
and vice-chaired by Angers, Barcelona, Belo Horizonte, Bilbao, Bogot, Jeju, Milan,
Paris and Porto Alegre.
agenda21culture.net