Cultural capital and metropolitan distinction: Views of Los Angeles and New York

The cultural industries have been solidly established in the contemporary economic development agenda. But the creative agenda and its accoutrements are often thought of under a large umbrella sometimes ignoring the composition of industries and occupations that comprise the cultural sector in various cities. In this paper, we look at the way in which cultural capital is distinctly place-specific. Unpacking the occupational and industrial makeup of the artistic and cultural sectors in Los Angeles and New York we study how their cultural capital is a function of each city's unique advantages and skill needs rather than simply a product of “the arts”. We find that the cultural workers in each city work in remarkably different industries. We consider how the skill and industry composition that each city possesses informs unique development trajectories. More broadly we speculate how these nuances might explain the cultural distinction that each city possesses.

Research highlights► The report investigates the composition of industries and occupations that comprise the cultural sector in various cities to look at the way in which cultural capital is distinctly place-specific. ► Unpacking the occupational and industrial makeup of the artistic and cultural sectors in Los Angeles and New York it shows the similarities and differences between each city's “arts” sector. ► The skill and industry composition that each city possesses informs unique development trajectories that results in the distinction that each city possesses.