Cities sought for World Design Capital 2014 title

The biennial title is awarded to a city for one year, in recognition of its achievements and focus on design as a driving force for economic, social and cultural development.

The title has previously been given to Turin in 2008, Seoul in 2010 and Helsinki in 2012.

The selection committee for the 2014 city includes: ICSID president Dr Mark Breitenberg; Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg, chief of the creative industries programme at the United Nations Congress on Trade and Development; Jeremy Myerson, director and chairman of the Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art; Kohei Nishiyama, founder and chief executive of Elephant Design; and Jussi Pajunen, mayor of Helsinki.

Breitenberg says, ‘Our ambition is to educate governments around the world about the ways in which design-driven approaches can address our most urgent and challenging problems, including planning and urban regeneration, technology and the development of new projects and services that improve daily life, transportation and the urban environment.’