Equity in U.S. Cultural Planning: Administrative Governance and the Role of DEI

Over the past decade, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has become a visible policy framework in U.S. cultural governance. This study examines how equity appears in U.S. cultural planning through a mixed-methods analysis of 76 cultural plans, nearly 300 cultural governance documents, and 10 practitioner interviews. Using a coding framework that distinguishes administrative equity from deliberative equity, the study traces temporal variation in equity intensity across four recent policy periods. Quantitative results show a significant increase in equity-related provisions during the 2020–2024 period, followed by modest divergence after 2025 rather than systematic rollback. Qualitative evidence suggests that DEI discourse is reflected in planning language and in some administrative practices, including funding criteria, organizational procedures, and evaluation frameworks. However, these developments remain uneven across jurisdictions, and deliberative participation continues to play a comparatively limited role in cultural planning processes.