Design Cities (UNESCO) explained

UNESCO's Design Cities project is part of the wider Creative Cities Network. The Network launched in 2004, and has member cities in seven creative fields. The other fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Music, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, and Media Arts.

Criteria for UNESCO Design Cities

To be approved as a Design City, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO.[1]

Designated UNESCO Design Cities share similar characteristics such as having an established design industry; cultural landscape maintained by design and the built environment (architecture, urban planning, public spaces, monuments, transportation); design schools and design research centers; practicing groups of designers with a continuous activity at a local and national level; experience in hosting fairs, events and exhibits dedicated to design; opportunity for local designers and urban planners to take advantage of local materials and urban/natural conditions; design-driven creative industries such as architecture and interiors, fashion and textiles, jewelry and accessories, interaction design, urban design, sustainable design.

There are 40 Cities of Design:

CityCountryYear of Inscription
Asahikawa Japan2019[2]
Ashgabat Turkmenistan2023[3]
Baku Azerbaijan2019[4]
Bandung Indonesia2015[5]
Bangkok Thailand2019[6]
Beijing China2012[7]
Berlin Germany2006[8]
Bilbao Spain2014[9]
Brasília Brazil2017[10]
Budapest Hungary2015[11]
Buenos Aires Argentina2005[12]
Cape Town South Africa2017[13]
Cebu City Philippines2019[14]
Cetinje Montenegro2023
Chiang Rai Thailand2023
Chongqing China2023
Curitiba Brazil2014[15]
Detroit, Michigan United States2015[16]
Dubai2018[17]
Dundee United Kingdom2014[18]
Fortaleza Brazil2019[19]
Geelong Australia2017[20]
Granada Nicaragua2023
Graz Austria2011[21]
Hanoi2019[22]
Helsinki Finland2014[23]
Istanbul Turkey2017[24]
Kaunas Lithuania2015[25]
Kobe Japan2008[26]
Kolding Denmark2017[27]
Kortrijk Belgium2017[28]
Medellín Colombia2018[29]
Mexico City Mexico2017[30]
Montreal Canada2006[31]
Muharraq Bahrain2019[32]
Nagoya Japan2008[33]
Puebla Mexico2015[34]
Querétaro Mexico2019[35]
Saint-Etienne France2010[36]
San José Costa Rica2019[37]
Seoul2010[38]
Shanghai China2010[39]
Shenzhen China2008[40]
Singapore Singapore2015[41]
Turin Italy2014[42]
Valencia Spain2023
Whanganui New Zealand2022[43]
Wuhan China2017[44]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Creative Cities Network - A Global Platform for Local Endeavour. UNESCO. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20131102092846/http://www.unesco.org:80/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CLT/pdf/Creative_cities_brochure_en.pdf . 2013-11-02 .
  2. Web site: Asahikawa. 30 October 2019.
  3. Web site: 55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day. 31 October 2023.
  4. Web site: Baku. 30 October 2019.
  5. Web site: Bandung. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20170403030748/http://www.designcities.net:80/city/bandung/ . 2017-04-03 .
  6. Web site: Bangkok. 30 October 2019.
  7. Web site: Beijing.
  8. Web site: Berlin.
  9. Web site: Bilbao.
  10. Web site: Brasilia. January 2018.
  11. Web site: Budapest. 14 December 2015.
  12. Web site: Buenos Aires.
  13. Web site: Cape Town.
  14. Web site: Cebu City. 30 October 2019.
  15. Web site: Curitiba.
  16. Web site: Detroit.
  17. Web site: Dubai.
  18. Web site: Dundee.
  19. Web site: Fortaleza. 30 October 2019.
  20. Web site: Geelong. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301072825/https://www.geelongcityofdesign.com.au/design-city/ . 2019-03-01 .
  21. Web site: Graz.
  22. Web site: Hanoi. 30 October 2019.
  23. Web site: Helsinki.
  24. Web site: Istanbul. 2019-11-08. 2020-08-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20200811112722/http://istanbul.design/. dead.
  25. Web site: Kaunas.
  26. Web site: Kobe.
  27. Web site: Kolding.
  28. Web site: Kortrijk.
  29. Web site: Medellín, la ciudad que se transformó | Casa & Diseño.
  30. Web site: Mexico.
  31. Web site: Montreal.
  32. Web site: Muharraq. 30 October 2019.
  33. Web site: Nagoya.
  34. Web site: Puebla. 2019-11-08. 2020-08-04. https://web.archive.org/web/20200804053507/https://www.designcities.net/city/puebla/. dead.
  35. Web site: Querétaro. 30 October 2019.
  36. Web site: Saint-Etienne.
  37. Web site: San José.
  38. Web site: Seoul.
  39. Web site: Shanghai.
  40. Web site: Shenzhen.
  41. Web site: Singapore.
  42. Web site: Torino. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20190723233450/https://www.designcities.net/city/torino . 2019-07-23 .
  43. Web site: Whanganui.
  44. Web site: Wuhan.