Montreal (Canada), 12 July 2021 – World Design Organization (WDO)® is pleased to announce that two successful bids have been shortlisted in their pursuit of becoming the next World Design Capital® (WDC) in 2024. A bid from Moscow (Russia) and the first binational bid from San Diego (USA) and Tijuana (Mexico) will move on to the next round of evaluation.
“In today’s socio-economic climate, the WDC designation represents a far more significant opportunity for us to highlight how cities around the world are leveraging design to reimagine and revitalize their urban spaces post-pandemic,” stated WDO President Srini Srinivasan. “While presenting their own unique design narratives, informed by diverse geographic and cultural contexts, both bids have successfully demonstrated a commitment to design as a means to improve quality of life.”
Moscow’s bid, put forth by the Agency of Creative Industries (ACI), highlighted a longstanding design heritage, as well as the ongoing achievements of the city’s design community, particularly in architecture and industrial design.
Under the theme of HOME (Human-Centred, Open, Multidisciplinary/Multicultural, Experimental), the San Diego – Tijuana bid submitted by Design Forward Alliance, speaks to a culture of cross-border collaboration and the role of both technology and innovation towards building more interconnected communities.
The shortlist was established by the WDC 2024 Selection Committee, comprised of seven international experts in design, architecture, smart cities and urban development. Following this announcement, further exchanges with the design communities supporting each bid will be sought to enable the committee to announce the final selection in October 2021.
2024 will mark the ninth cycle for the World Design Capital programme – a biennial designation that recognizes cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development. Previous designations include Torino (2008), Seoul (2010), Helsinki (2012), Cape Town (2014), Taipei (2016), Mexico City (2018), Lille Metropole (2020) and Valencia in 2022.
