Linked Cultural Events: Digitizing Past Events and Implications for Analyzing the ‘Creative City’

This chapter introduces ‘linked cultural events’ as a novel methodological framework that allows for the systematic analysis of cultural expressions in their urban contexts. The events-based approach is inspired by datasets developed in the research program Creative Amsterdam: An E-Humanities Perspective (CREATE). This program investigates how cultural industries have shaped Amsterdam’s cultural position in a European and global context (and vice versa), from the seventeenth century until the present day. By doing so, it aims to contribute to answering several major research questions (cf. [1]): Why do certain places and periods stand out in terms of cultural and creative achievements? Are their accomplishments rooted in specific urban historical contexts? What are the sources of urban creativity and – especially relevant to policy makers – how can they be unlocked?