What is a Good City in the Context of the Global South?: The Role of the Arts in Social-Cultural Urban Infrastructure

In contrast to urban advancement in developed countries, the social infrastructure of overpopulated cities in the Global South remains challenging. Striking unequal income-distribution and societal boundaries often lead to isolation, loneliness, and poor health and wellbeing.

Building on robust evidence that cultural engagement promotes wellbeing, this transnational project focuses on understanding and enhancing social-cultural urban infrastructure in two South American cities: Salvador (Brazil) and Cochabamba (Bolivia). The study will employ a large-scale quantitative survey in both cities, ascertaining citizens’ experiences of social-cultural engagement and how this is associated with public wellbeing.

Subsequently, an intervention using music will engage a sub-group of citizens who self-define as ‘othered’ and isolated, despite living in overcrowded urban spaces. The intervention aims to integrate families of those with disabilities across the divide of urban otherness, with mixed methods employed to investigate effectiveness. Findings from the project's research will inform policymaking, urban planning, and social-cultural infrastructure for a 'good city'.

Principal Investigator: Dr Tania Lisboa, Royal College of Music