Photo: gego2605 / Flickr

The beautiful city of Cape Town has been selected as World Design Capital for 2014. The International Council for Societies of Industrial Design awards the title bi-annually. Their aim is to give international prominence to cities that use design for their economic, cultural and social development. The chosen city is given time to prepare and promote in advance for their year-long programme. Cape Town’s colourful ‘Live Design, Transform Life’ bid focuses on design that is socially responsive.

‘Live Design. Transform Life.’

Cape Town’s design bid seeks to deal with the imbalances that exist in the city. Cape Town 2014 states that ‘Ours is a proudly African bid, with the ultimate goal of achieving a sustainable, inclusive and more liveable African city, rooted in the strengths of our people and communities – to “Live Design. Transform Life.”’

The Cape Town 2014 website further explains that ‘devastating economic and natural disasters have had a sobering effect on all aspects of life, including design. There is a growing need for practical design thinking, participatory methods and people-centred solutions to real problems.’

The aim is to rebuild the city through community cohesion and infrastructural enhancement. Another focus area is to reposition the city of Cape Town as a knowledge economy. There will be a year-long programme of design-focused events that allow for an inclusive city by incorporating ‘design thinking’ into the city’s urban development planning.

First African City to be named World Design Capital

South Africa proved that it can compete on the world stage when it successfully hosted The Soccer World Cup in 2010. Cape Town’s Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille accepted the World Design Capital award on behalf of Cape Town.

‘It is an honour for me to be addressing you here today as mayor of the first African city to be named a World Design Capital. A city belongs to its people and it must be designed for and with them and their communities,’ she said, noting that the year 2014 will be a celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa.

She added that the bidding process helped to bring various initiatives together which ‘made us realise that design in all its forms, when added together, creates human and city development.’

Tags: travel