Capturing Value & Preserving Identity

The Global Cultural Districts Network (GCDN), an initiative of AEA Consulting, is an international federation dedicated to strengthening urban life through arts, culture, and creative industries. Bringing together leaders in culture and urban development, the network advances global dialogue, research, and collaboration across cultural districts worldwide.

CSC was commissioned to examine how cultural districts can harness development in ways that generate public value while protecting local identity and community wealth.

As cities increasingly invest in cultural infrastructure, rising property values and private development often outpace safeguards for long-standing residents, artists, and neighborhood character. The challenge is not simply growth — it is ensuring that value created through public and cultural investment is recaptured and reinvested equitably.

CSC led the research and development of a consolidated toolkit of value-capture strategies — the first comprehensive resource outlining finance mechanisms, public policy tools, and equity-centered practices that enable districts to:

• Recover and recirculate value generated by development
• Offset public maintenance costs
• Generate revenue for community benefit
• Strengthen local cultural identity
• Mitigate displacement and gentrification pressures

The report includes direct and indirect value-capture tools, illustrated through case studies from districts around the world. Together, they provide cultural leaders and policymakers with practical strategies to align capital flows with community wellbeing rather than leaving outcomes solely to market forces.

Although initiated prior to the compounding crises of 2020, the research became even more urgent as those crises exposed deep inequities in access to cultural and economic resources.

This engagement reflects CSC’s commitment to integrating cultural vitality with structural design — ensuring that development strengthens, rather than erodes, the communities it touches.