Culture goes East: Mapping the shifting geographies of urban cultural capital through major cultural buildings

David Gogishvili and Martin Müller
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David Gogishvili: University of Lausanne, Switzerland
Martin Müller: University of Lausanne, Switzerland

Urban Studies, 2025, vol. 62, issue 7, 1417-1434

Abstract: Culture has become a major component of policies to put cities on the global map. This article traces the shifting geographies of urban cultural capital using the lens of major cultural buildings, such as the Guggenheim Bilbao Museum and the Louvre Abu Dhabi, which cities often mobilise to compete for attention, reputation, tourists and investment. Based on a custom-built database containing 438 major cultural buildings opened worldwide between 1990 and 2019, this article finds a strong growth in the number and total cost of these buildings throughout the three decades, far exceeding global GDP growth. What is more, there is a geographical shift from the established cities of high culture in North America and Western Europe towards Asia, with a particular concentration in China and the Gulf region. The growth of investment in culture and its fast-changing urban geographies urge a more profound integration of culture in urban studies and a deeper consideration of the role of cultural capital in making global cities.

Keywords: architecture; built environment; cultural buildings; cultural capital; cultural flagships; culture; Global East; globalisation; major global cities; politics; 建筑; å»ºæˆ çŽ¯å¢ƒ; 文化建筑; 文化资本; 文化旗舰; 文化; å…¨ç ƒä¸œæ–¹; å…¨ç ƒåŒ–; å…¨ç ƒä¸»è¦ åŸŽå¸‚; 政治 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:62:y:2025:i:7:p:1417-1434

DOI: 10.1177/00420980241289846

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