Cultural Vitality Indicators

A healthy place to live includes opportunities for the arts, culture and creative expression. This premise has not been properly reflected in policy discussions about ways to improve the quality of life in communities.

To address this problem, the Urban Institute's Arts and Culture Indicators in Communities Project (ACIP) has developed both a comprehensive definition of Cultural Vitality and tools for how to measure it. These can help us create a more accurate picture of a community and also help understand the impact of arts and cultural activity on communities.

This site is intended as a resource for urban planners, community development practitioners, public policy scholars and professionals, arts administrators and funders, artists and community leaders interested developing Cultural Vitality Indicators.