Public Art, Quantified: The Next Evolution of Measuring City Impact

Public art is continuing to evolve as an influential force in shaping the identity and cultural vibrancy of modern cities. Murals, installations, and graffiti do more than beautify—they generate foot traffic, attract investment, and strengthen one’s sense of place in their community. Public art (or street art) also contributes to health and wellness, offering moments of reflection and joy in everyday spaces. But to unlock the full potential of public art, cities must move beyond appreciation and embrace digital mapping and archiving. While not easy, the digital mapping and archiving of public art in cities is the first step in measuring cultural capital, backed by data that can inform better policy and investment decisions.

As an Experience Designer and Technologist committed to the creative economy, I understand intimately how the right blend of creativity and technology can help cities stand out.

Mapping Creative and Cultural Capital

Preserving public art (physically) is essential, but geo-mapping reveals a richer opportunity. By building a digital record of murals, sculptures, installations, etc, cities can better understand the scope and influence of their creative and cultural capital. A living database helps cities see what art exists, where it’s concentrated, and how the public is experiencing it.

What is creative and cultural capital

Creative capital is the talent and imagination of people (artists, designers, and innovators) that drive new ideas and economic growth in a city. Cultural capital is the traditions, heritage, and cultural assets that give a city its identity and social value. Think of it like a city’s engine and its soul: creativity generates momentum while culture gives it meaning and direction. Put together, creative and cultural capital make public art a powerful force for city growth, blending innovation with identity to strengthen communities.

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Understanding the big picture

Spotting Patterns in Creative Identity

Murals and street art often reflect the stories, values, and voices of the communities around them. Mapping these works helps cities recognize recurring themes, cultural hotspots, and underrepresented areas. This broader view turns public art into a visible expression of community identity and pride.

Observing areas absent of art

Mapping reveals not just the number of artworks in a city, but their distribution. Are murals concentrated near cultural districts, transit hubs, or small businesses? Are certain neighborhoods overlooked? These insights can guide more equitable investment in future public art projects, ensuring access to creative experiences across the city.

Measuring community engagement 

Capturing user interactions like shares, bookmarks, likes and tour participation helps cities understand qualitatively which artworks resonate the most. These behavioral signals help cities and cultural organizations prioritize what to maintain, promote, or replicate. For example, if one mural consistently appears in user-generated tour itineraries, it may be a strong candidate for additional programming, storytelling, or artist recognition.

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Welcome to Detroit Mural City, powered by CANVS

Trust me, this is far from abstract—it’s actual. In Detroit, CANVS partnered with the city to catalog nearly 1,000 murals through the Detroit Mural City initiative, fueling community pride, attracting national recognition, and guiding more equitable investment in public art. Newark and Jersey City now host interactive mural maps to showcase their public art ecosystems. Newark’s mayor said it well: “Interactive maps allow people to locate and learn about street art using smartphones, blending timeless talent with modern access.”

The Economics of Public Art

Mapping public art enables cities to quantify its impact—an essential step in budget discussions and policy planning.

• Foot traffic and tourism: A University of Cincinnati study found mural districts see 30% more weekend foot traffic. Where murals overlap with restaurants or cafés, traffic can be five times the city average. Festivals like Cincinnati’s BLINK drew over 2 million attendees in 2022 and generated more than $120 million in economic impact. Even single murals, like Mr. Doodle’s in Austin, can go viral and attract national attention.
  
  
• Revitalization and value: In Naples, Italy, resident-inspired murals helped revive neglected areas. In U.S. cities, murals often signal a neighborhood on the rise. Mapping allows cities to track these patterns and design interventions that balance revitalization with affordability.
  
  
• Jobs and GDP: Artists are contributors to the economy. In 2023, 2.8 million Americans worked as artists—a 36% increase since 2010. The arts sector contributed $1.2 trillion to GDP and supported over 5 million jobs. Mapping helps city leaders see this creative workforce and justify funding.
  
  
• Safety and livability: Art can make streets safer. Bloomberg Philanthropies found asphalt art projects reduced pedestrian crashes by 50%. In Cincinnati, violent crime dropped by 28% in mural-rich areas. Public art fosters care, attention, and community pride—qualities that deter neglect and violence.

Data-Driven City Development

One of the biggest challenges facing public art (especially street art) is that its value is often delayed, indirect, and difficult to quantify. Unlike a new road or retail store, the impact of a mural might not show up immediately in hard metrics. It’s a form of long-tail value—generating visibility, foot traffic, cultural pride, and safety improvements over time. This lack of short-term, tangible ROI creates hesitation among funders and city stakeholders who are under pressure to justify every investment.

How do we empower cities in knowing that their ROI will unfold gradually. This is where data matters and the exact gap CANVS is looking to fill.

By digitizing and mapping public art, cities can transform murals and street installations from one-off visual statements into strategic, measurable infrastructure. No more guessing the impact of a mural. With the right data infrastructure, cities can track how public art influences engagement, foot traffic, economic activity, and even public safety outcomes in the surrounding area.

We’re building tools that let cities connect public art data with third-party sources—like transit usage, real estate trends, or demographic shifts. These integrations power dashboards and reports that speak the language of city planning and policy: metrics, maps, and impact over time.

This approach changes how public art is perceived. It’s no longer just aesthetics—it becomes a tool for transportation strategy, economic development, tourism, and community health. It opens the door to cross-departmental collaboration and long-term cultural planning. And over time, it creates a flywheel effect: better insights lead to more targeted support for the arts, better outcomes, and more data to demonstrate the value—making it easier for cities to advocate for public art not just as a cultural asset, but as a core component of urban vitality.

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Looking Ahead: The Future of Street Art

Mapping and archiving public art is about more than organization—it’s about elevating murals, sculptures, and street art as civic assets that fuel the creative economy, inspire communities, and shape a city’s future.

Technology doesn’t replace the humanity of public art—it amplifies it. A digital map can preserve the story behind a mural, highlight the voice of its artist, and connect that piece of work to a neighborhood’s identity, past and present. Public-facing maps foster exploration and tourism, while internal dashboards help cities track impact, plan smarter, and manage their collections over time.

I believe the cities that embrace this approach—treating public art as measurable infrastructure rather than background decoration—will lead the next era of culture-driven development. They’ll preserve their creative history, empower their artists, and build more inclusive engines of growth, all while making art more accessible and meaningful to the public.

At CANVS, we’re building the technology to make this possible: interactive mural maps, digital archiving tools, and data dashboards that bring public art ecosystems to life. If you’re a city, cultural organization, or creative district looking to map and showcase your public art, we’d love to collaborate. Visit canvsart.com/business to learn more or get in touch.