Developing an indicator evaluation system to assess cities’ identity

City identity has long been investigated across a wide range of disciplines, including sociology, anthropology, urban planning, cultural tourism, design, and the arts. In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the social and economic value of city identity as a strategic dimension of cultural and creative competitiveness among cities and countries. However, despite growing efforts to develop strategies that make cities more identifiable, liveable, and inclusive, there is still no shared framework for analysing and observing urban identity. Research conducted from different disciplinary perspectives has produced fragmented knowledge and has rarely led to common approaches or interdisciplinary collaboration. This paper aims to develop a method for assessing and measuring the elements that constitute urban identity by proposing a methodology for the observation, analysis, and evaluation of city cultural identity. The proposed approach is intended to support quantitative and qualitative analyses and to facilitate dialogue among specialists from different fields. Through a comprehensive literature review, the study first identifies the key components of urban cultural identity and develops a system of indicators for their assessment. It then discusses appropriate evaluation criteria, considering both qualitative and quantitative dimensions. By doing so, the paper addresses a significant gap in the literature, offering a first systematic attempt to investigate the components of city identity on a broader scale and providing a structured framework for understanding and evaluating urban identity.