Measuring sustainability is hard to sustain: Lessons from a case study on collaborative cultural indicator development in Ottawa, Canada

Abstract

This article describes the specific issues faced by the Ottawa Culture Research Group (OCRG) as it sought to develop cultural indicators for Ottawa, Canada. It examines this effort in the light of conceptual and collaborative challenges in developing indicators of culture and sustainability and how these challenges have been addressed in cities elsewhere. In focusing on the collaborative relationships among the various partners in the OCRG, the article highlights the difficulties of integrating cultural measures of sustainable development within urban administration and governance when the partners have differing priorities and are dependent on multiple and unstable sources of support. It ends with several conclusions about the practices and resources required to sustain measurement initiatives that address both tangible and intangible aspects of culture’s role in the sustainability of cities.