World Design Capital

The World Design Capital (WDC) programme, designated every two years by the World Design Organization (WDO), recognizes cities for their effective use of design to drive economic, social, cultural, and environmental development. Through a year-long programme of events, the designated city showcases best practices in sustainable design-led urban policy and innovation that improves quality of life.

World Design Capitals by year

Year Location Source
2008 Italy Turin, Italy
2010 South Korea Seoul, South Korea
2012 Finland Helsinki, Finland
2014 South Africa Cape Town, South Africa
2016 Taiwan Taipei, Taiwan
2018 Mexico Mexico City, Mexico
2020 France Métropole Européenne de Lille, France
2022 Spain Valencia, Spain
2024 United States San Diego, United States*
Mexico Tijuana, Mexico*
2026 Germany Frankfurt Rhine-Main, Germany
2028 South Korea Busan, South Korea
*transborder collaboration

References

  1. ↑ "World Design Capital". WDO. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "World Design Capital Torino 2008". ICSID. Archived from the original on 4 February 2009.
  3. ↑ Ihlwan, Moon (27 February 2008). "The Seoul of World Design". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on August 14, 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. ↑ "City of Helsinki appointed World Design Capital 2012". ICSID. 25 November 2009. Archived from the original on 28 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "City of Cape Town appointed as World Design Capital 2014". ICSID. 26 October 2011. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. ↑ "City of Taipei announced as World Design Capital 2016". ICSID. 18 November 2013. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  7. ↑ "Lille Métropole sera "capitale mondiale du design" en 2020". 14 October 2017.
  8. ↑ "WDC San Diego-Tijuana 2024".
  9. ↑ "Frankfurt RheinMain designated World Design Capital 2026". 13 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Busan Metropolitan City designated World Design Capital 2028". WDO. Retrieved 21 July 2025.