From Indigenous knowledge in Australasia to digital innovation in East Asia, cities are using culture to shape more inclusive, sustainable, and creative futures. Drawing on recent survey data and case study submissions from our cities, this section offers a snapshot of emerging cultural policy trends across regions.  While each region has its own distinctive priorities, common themes such as access to space, climate action, youth engagement, and equity, highlight the extent to which all major cities share similar challenges in defining tomorrow’s cultural landscape. 

AUSTRALASIA 

Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney  

• First Nations First: Cities are embedding Indigenous knowledge and leadership into policy and public space through initiatives like Melbourne’s Aboriginal Arts Grants.  

• Creative Space Protection: Rising land costs are driving innovative solutions to secure affordable cultural infrastructure and artist workspaces in Sydney.  

• Climate and Culture: Growing use of the arts in climate action through sustainable festivals, artist residencies, and public engagement, including Melbourne’s Refuge programme.  

• Youth and Talent Development: Ensuring support for young and underrepresented creatives such as Melbourne’s Warehouse Residency for deaf and disabled artists. 

• Inclusive Streetscapes: Partnering with private organisations and developers to embed public art that represents the cities communities from Sydney’s Creative Hoardings to new development partnerships. 

EAST ASIA 

Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Hong Kong, Nanjing, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo 

• Digital Culture as Urban Infrastructure: Nanjing’s immersive exhibitions and Tokyo’s Civic Creative Base embed digital tools in culture, while Chengdu supports creative tech startups and gaming industries. 

• Heritage Protection and Promotion: Cities revitalise tangible and intangible heritage from Beijing’s Central Axis to Guangzhou’s markets, and Taipei’s corporate investment in heritage initiatives.   

• Expanding Creative Space: Cities including Taipei, Hong Kong, and Tokyo expand innovative creative space schemes to support artists and counter land scarcity. 

• Citizen-Centred Access: Widing participation through initiatives from Seoul’s outdoor libraries, to Nanjing’s participatory arts activities.  

• Internationalisation and Tourism: Cities are boosting international profiles and visitor engagement from major global events in Tokyo, to Nanjing’s literary tourism, and Guangzhou’s design week.  

EUROPE 

Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Cologne, Dublin, Edinburgh, Hamburg, Helsinki, İstanbul, Kyiv, Lisbon, London, Milan, Oslo, Paris, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich  

• Inclusive Participation: Decentralised programming in Vienna and Milan and participatory programming in Paris, Lisbon and Zurich are supporting citizen engagement.   

• Sustainable Culture: Cities are embedding climate action within cultural policy from Edinburgh Carbon Management Initiative to the Helsinki Biennial. 

• Cultural Infrastructure & Space: Supporting affordable access creative spaces in London and Cologne, to grant schemes in Oslo and Stockholm, new venues in Warsaw and heritage revitalisation in İstanbul. 

• Night-Time culture: Night-time strategies in cities like Amsterdam and Dublin, to  ensuring safety in Brussels, and Barcelona’s Night-Time Commissioner,  

• Equity & Decolonisation: From Amsterdam’s National Slavery Museum to decolonisation initiatives in Hamburg, and street renaming in Kyiv, cities are prioritising confronting colonial legacies.  

NORTH AMERICA 

Austin, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, Vancouver  

• Securing funding: from income through hotel taxes in San Francisco, to securing major decentralising funding in New York, to diversifying funding uplifts in Toronto, to Vancouver’s investment in community organisations and sports groups, cities are working to ensure financial stability and sustainability. 

• Artists in Governance: Los Angeles and New York are recognising the value of creativity by embedding artists within public agencies to co-create equitable policies and community engagement.  

• Space as Infrastructure: Protecting vulnerable creative space is an increasing priority from Rally Austin’s Cultural Trust for affordable space, to New York’s Create in Place programme for culture at risk, to Boston’s Making Space for Creative Enterprise transforming underutilised office and retail spaces and Toronto’s stabilisation of Artscape’s assets. 

• Equity in the Public Realm: Chicago and San Francisco are leading major community initiatives to rebalance the stories and perspectives memorialised in public space.  

• Citizen Voice: From including young people’s voices in Montreal’s cultural policy, to city wide consultation in Chicago, cities are increasing citizen voice in policymaking.   

MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA  

Abu Dhabi, Dubai 

• Public Art & Placemaking: Abu Dhabi’s Public Art Biennial and Dubai’s Sikka Festival activate public spaces.  

• Cultural Heritage Conservation: A key policy area from conserving modern heritage in Abu Dhabi and supporting intangible cultural heritage.  

• Creative Districts & Urban Regeneration: from Dubai’s Al Quoz Creative Zone and Istanbul’s neighbourhood revitalisation foster vibrant cultural ecosystems. 

• Cultural Infrastructure Development: Saadiyat Cultural District in Abu Dhabi is establishing a world class cultural destination.  

• Creative Economy & Opportunities: Evidence is being captured in Dubai’s 2024 Creative Economy Impact Report. 

SOUTH & SOUTHEAST ASIA 

Bengaluru, Jakarta  

• Conserving Natural and Cultural Heritage: Campaigns like Bengaluru’s ‘Wake the Lake’ and Jakarta’s heritage restoration projects turn conservation into community-building. 

• Culture for Economic and Social Change: Jakarta’s Museum for Local Economic Development and Betawi cultural villages link heritage with local development and wellbeing. 

• Technology and Culture: As regional tech hubs, Bengaluru celebrates its recent innovation legacy through a new Museum of Innovation, while Jakarta expands support for creative industries. 

• Festivals and Experimental Practice: Cities promote intergenerational creativity and inclusive participation through initiatives like Unboxing Bengaluru and Jakarta’s Canal Theatre. 

• Design-Driven Cities: Bengaluru’s policy applies design thinking across urban policy to improve liveability and foster creative solutions.