The cultural economy lab is located in the Sidney Smith Building at U of T's downtown campus. The lab is made up of graduate students and researchers at the University’s Department of Geography and Programme in Planning. Lab members, working together with professors from various departments at U of T as well as several other institutions, conduct research exploring the links between culture and social and economic development. Cultural industries being researched include the music, fashion, art and design sectors. Research is undertaken to understand industry contributions to social, cultural and economic development and to explore linkages within and across cultural sectors.

The lab was established in 2004 using funding provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), the Ontario Innovation Trust (OIT) and the University of Toronto. It consists of an office space with four workstations and an array of equipment and software for conducting qualitative research, such as digital voice recorders, tape recorders, transcribing machines, teleconferencing equipment, coding software and digital cameras. Other equipment housed within the lab includes a high quality scanner, printer and plotter.

The lab has compiled a database of statistics on cultural industries in Canada, as well as of cultural industries firms in the city. The lab also contains an archive of newspaper articles relevant to the culltural economy of Toronto, and a database of academic articles on urban-economic development, labour, cultural industries, the cultural economy, creativity, commodity chains, neoliberalism and other economic geography topics. A bibliographic page can be accessed here.

Several research projects are run through the lab - including a number of collaborative partnerships with Toronto urban and cultural development groups - exploring culture, creativity and the changing shape of the city. Two ongoing research projects are the Innovation Systems Research Network and the Placing Creativity Group. To learn more about these projects click here.

University of Toronto
Sidney Smith Hall
100 St. George Street, Rm. 5028 & 5029
Toronto, ON. M5G 3G3
Ph. # 416.978.6679