A Survey of the Cultural Policies of Berlin, Paris, Vienna, and Zagreb Regarding their Urban Peripheries

Cultural facilities such as theatres, cinemas, galleries, exhibition spaces, music venues, and flexible multi-use locations are in a valuable position to stimulate the development of urban peripheries. However, there is a lot to be done to make things work. This paper looks at the cultural scenes in Berlin, Paris, Vienna and Zagreb in particular, the cultural facilities on the outskirts of these four metropolises and the respective municipalities’ cultural policies for their urban fringes. The survey shows that there are fundamental differences in the four metropolises’ cultural policies: Whereas Paris and Zagreb are fostering the cultural development of their outlying districts, Berlin and Vienna lag behind. Ironically, municipalities in more centralist states like Paris and Zagreb ? when it comes to culture ? are doing more for their peripheries than those in states with a federal structure, that is to say Berlin and Vienna.