From Cultural Events to Urban Governance: Policy Outputs and Urban Development in the 2025 Culture City of East Asia-Macao

Abstract

This study examines the 2025 “Culture City of East Asia–Macao” as a case of culture-led urban policy, focusing on its identifiable policy outputs and their relationship with broader urban development. The study employs secondary data analysis and policy document analysis, drawing on official statistics, policy documents, survey reports, academic studies, and supplementary media sources mainly from 2023 to 2025. The analysis distinguishes among three levels: direct policy outputs, concurrent urban development outcomes, and long-term cultural legacy. The findings indicate that the 2025 programme generated several identifiable policy outputs, including city branding initiatives, inter-city cultural exchanges in East Asia, community-based cultural programmes, intangible cultural heritage governance, and planning for major public cultural facilities. During the same period, Macao also experienced growth in visitor arrivals, hotel occupancy, non-gaming expenditure, gross domestic product, and service exports. However, these changes were simultaneously shaped by tourism recovery, large-scale events, existing industrial structures, and other policy interventions; therefore, they cannot be directly attributed to the Culture City of East Asia programme. In terms of cultural participation, the overall participation rate remained broadly stable, while participation in multiple types of cultural activities increased, and community-based programmes expanded the spatial reach of cultural services. The study argues that the Culture City of East Asia should be understood not merely as an annual cultural event, but as a platform for policy coordination and urban cultural governance. Its long-term significance will depend on whether the programme can generate sustained outcomes in city branding governance, cultural industry capacity, resident participation, inter-city cultural networks, and public cultural facility governance. Future research should employ longitudinal tracking, comparative city analysis, and participant-level data to assess its long-term cultural legacy and policy effects.