The value of culture to urban housing markets

Cultural amenities are the expression of a cultural environment, given by a combination of aesthetic factors, styles, rhythms and behaviours, which contribute to make a neighbourhood vibrant and more enjoyable. Following the hedonic approach, we propose an empirical strategy to capture the multiple effects of cultural amenities, as well as the effects produced by green areas, public transport and university proximity. The results are used to determine whether cultural amenities are optimally provided by the municipality of Milan, Italy. It emerged that investments in culture generate positive effects to society, and that governments should devote far more resources to culture.