Cultural Deserts: Accessibility, Enjoyment, and Potential of Cultural Infrastructures between Urban Centers and Peripheries

This research delves into the pressing issue of 'cultural deserts' – areas with insufficient access to cultural institutions – from the lens of social inequality. Traditionally associated with the concept of 'food deserts' (Rodier et al., 2017), cultural deserts are spaces where communities lack adequate cultural provisions, such as museums, libraries, and performance venues (Cramaris et al., 2022; Ballatore & Candlin, 2022; Brook, 2016). This study specifically investigates these deserts within metropolitan areas, with the city of Rome as a focal point. The research aims to map cultural infrastructures across Rome, utilizing diverse national datasets, to offer a spatial analysis of the locations of cultural deserts and the demographics affected by them.

The project is built on three main objectives: firstly, to spatially map cultural infrastructures, with a focus on accessibility and usability; secondly, to assess the socio-economic implications of identified cultural deserts by correlating them with other forms of social inequality; and thirdly, to understand the catalytic role of cultural infrastructures in local economies and social mobility. The hypothesis is that cultural deserts are not isolated phenomena but are intertwined with broader socio-economic dynamics. Cultural centrality or marginality could be closely linked to housing conditions, residential mobility, labour markets, educational opportunities and attainments. This approach is key to understand the cultural deserts as a constitutive element of social inequality.

By adopting a quantitative approach, this research contributes to the ongoing academic discourse on social inequality by proposing comprehensive indices that integrate multiple dimensions of disparity, starting from the cultural field. Studying how cultural deserts are linked to wider social inequities helps us to identify potential remedies to bridge these gaps. Indeed, the research is designed to provide crucial insights to policy-makers and stakeholders about the broader implications of cultural accessibility.