In today's rapidly changing environment, design is becoming an increasingly fundamental tool in all levels of public and private development. Corporations are including design in the very core of their business strategies, governments are taking advantage of effective design to make their cities more attractive, more liveable and more efficient, and citizens around the globe are becoming increasingly  aware and attuned to the benefits of design.

The vision of the World Design Capital® (WDC) project is to promote and encourage the use of design to further the social, economic and cultural development of the world's cities. In this spirit, the WDC will honour those cities that use design to revitalise and reinvent their urban environment.