The cultural dimension of inequality
This policy brief builds on the idea that equal access to cultural participation opportunities is just as important for human beings as access to decent jobs and income. By combining geolocalised data on cultural venues from OpenStreetMap and population data from the Global Human Settlement Layer datasets, the JRC has produced a first European map of cultural participation opportunities. It shows how four types of cultural venues — libraries, museums, theatres and cinemas — are spread across Europe, with the aim to contribute to a more precise understanding of the cultural participation opportunities present in different national contexts, beyond simple ‘venues per capita’ indicators, and to provide a potential predictor of citizens’ level of participation in cultural activities.
The results show that cultural participation opportunities are less equally distributed in larger countries with the amenities concentrated in local areas with more inhabitants. The inequality difference between countries seems to be driven mostly by differences between rural and urban areas, with wider disparities in the density of cultural venues in less populated (rural) areas than in urban areas. It is observed that the higher the inequality the lower the cultural participation rate, even after taking account of differences in educational attainment and income levels.
MONTALTO Valentina;
PANELLA Francesco;
DOMINGUEZ TORREIRO Marcos;
2021-05-21
European Commission
JRC124937
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