mapMI

Mapping the cultural vibrancy of Milan

mapMi is an ongoing research project, promoted and coordinated by the ASK Research Center, to describe and measure cultural vitality and sustainability in the metropolitan city of Milan.  

At the basis of mapMi is a crowdsourced database, built by collecting, classifying and updating statistics from multiple sources (ISTAT, MIBAC, City of Milan and many others), with the help of networks of cultural organizations and about 300 students. To date, the database collects nearly 13,000 "cultural places" in the metropolitan city of Milan: businesses, nonprofits, public entities and religious places. Each place is geolocated and described in terms of its institutional nature, activity, membership in formal networks, mix of activities that characterize it, and participation in widespread temporary city events. Places that host recurring temporary events (e.g., during Week and City formats) were also mapped, a useful survey to understand under what conditions these become part of the cultural infrastructure.

The dataset has enormous potential for studying and understanding the territory, individual neighborhoods, and the networks of relationships present among the various nodes of the creative supply chains, making it possible to assess, over time, Milan's ability to characterize itself from a creative point of view and to attract professionalism and talent.

With the mapMI project, which can be activated with ad hoc research projects, ASK participates in the collective reflection on the present and future of Milan as a city of cultures, offering a dynamic snapshot of its cultural offerings and policies.