Seyyed Mohsen Tabatabaei Mazdabadi, in an interview with the economic correspondent of the ANA news agency, stated: Today's cities are no longer just a collection of streets and buildings; they are living and dynamic platforms for interaction, creativity, and cultural and economic growth. In such circumstances, cultural programs can be the driving force behind urban economic development, provided that they go beyond the level of slogans and scattered performances and are designed intelligently, purposefully, and efficiently. In this direction, economic intelligence and pure thinking are two key tools for linking culture and urban economy.

The faculty member of the Islamic Azad University continued: Economic intelligence in the field of urban management means collecting and analyzing behavioral, social, and economic data of citizens so that managers can make decisions based on reality, not on guesswork and personal experience. When this data is combined with the principles of lean thinking, cities will be able to allocate their cultural resources optimally, eliminate low-efficiency activities, and focus on projects that generate the greatest social and economic value.

The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association, noting that in developed countries such as Japan and Sweden, urban cultural centers analyze citizens’ interests and behavioral patterns using economic intelligence systems to design cultural programs precisely based on the real needs of society, said: “As a result, the rate of cultural participation increases and the economic efficiency of the cultural sector grows noticeably. In Islamic countries such as the UAE and Malaysia, cultural data has also become the basis for designing festivals, exhibitions, and artistic programs, which has led to a significant growth in urban tourism and cultural employment.

He said: “In Iran, although cultural programs in cities are highly diverse, many of them are not economically and socially efficient.” A significant portion of resources are spent on projects that either have no real audience or whose economic impact is not felt at the city level. The lean thinking approach takes on a more precise meaning here: eliminating cultural activities that do not create real value and focusing on projects that are derived from data and community needs. For example, economic intelligence data analysis can show which areas of a city have a higher capacity for profitable cultural events, or which types of programs provide the greatest social and economic return on investment.

Creative Economy and Urban Productivity Indicators

A faculty member at Islamic Azad University said: To achieve such a transformation, it is necessary to review cultural and urban policies at the macro level. National laws and programs must provide the basis for sharing cultural and economic data between urban institutions, municipalities, and the private sector. In many countries, including Canada and South Korea, this institutional synergy has increased the productivity of cultural activities by 50 percent and the share of the cultural economy in urban GDP has grown significantly. In Iran, with the reform of the cultural data-driven system, it can be expected that the position of large cities in the "creative economy" and "urban productivity" indicators will be significantly improved.

According to Tabatabaei Mozabadi; the results of such an approach will be evident not only in statistics, but also in the behavior of society. When cultural programs are in line with the real needs of the people, citizen participation increases, a sense of social belonging is strengthened, and the city becomes a living and vibrant environment. On the other hand, this active participation paves the way for the formation of emerging cultural industries, urban entrepreneurship, and cultural tourism—factors that directly contribute to the city’s economic growth.

He said: “At the organizational level, economic intelligence with lean thinking is also transforming the way cultural management is done. Cultural managers learn that data-based decision-making is the best way to reduce costs and increase effectiveness. Projects are evaluated with a cyclical perspective; any plan that does not yield results is eliminated or modified, and any successful plan becomes a model for repetition and development. This approach transforms municipalities and cultural institutions from heavy and traditional structures into agile, learning, and forward-looking institutions.”

Lean Thinking in Cultural Policymaking

The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association emphasized: “From an economic perspective, implementing this approach can dramatically increase the share of cultural activities in the economic growth of cities.” On average, countries that have used data and clean thinking in cultural policymaking have seen a 2- to 3-fold increase in urban tourism revenues and creative industries. In Iranian cities, such a transformation could also improve the cultural standing of cities in global economic competitiveness indices.

Tabatabaei emphasized: “Most importantly, this change will create hope among the public and cultural activists. When citizens feel that their voices are heard in the design of cultural programs and data is used to truly improve their lives, social trust increases and voluntary participation in urban activities expands. The hope that is born from transparency, effectiveness, and fairness in the allocation of cultural resources will itself become a factor of economic sustainability.”

The Secretary General of the Iranian Urban Economics Scientific Association, pointing out that ultimately, the link between economic intelligence and pure thinking in urban cultural management offers a new model for sustainable economic development of cities, said: A city whose cultural decisions are made based on data and pure logic is a city that sees culture not as a cost, but as a dynamic capital for growth. Such a city links culture to the economy and uses collective wisdom to build a more humane, dynamic, and hopeful future, a future in which every cultural event is not just a symbol of art, but also a sign of economic rationality and managerial maturity.

ANA News Agency