Amid the buzz on the creative city and cultural economy, knowledge about what works at various urban and regional scales is sorely lacking. This article reviews the state of knowledge about arts and culture as an urban or regional development tool, exploring norms, reviewing evidence for causal relationships, and analyzing stakeholders, bureaucratic fragmentation, and citizen participation in cultural planning. Two strategies—designated cultural districts and tourist-targeted cultural investments— illustrate how better research would inform implementation. In guiding urban cultural development, researchers should examine and clarify the impacts, risks, and opportunity costs of various strategies and the investments and revenue and expenditure patterns associated with each, so that communities and governments avoid squandering “creative city” opportunities.

This article reviews the state of knowledge about arts and culture as an urban or regional development tool, exploring norms, reviewing evidence for causal relationships, and analyzing stakeholders, bureaucratic fragmentation, and citizen participation in cultural planning.