San Diego/Tijuana wins World Design Capital, defeating Moscow

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San Diego and Tijuana won their joint application to be the world design capital.

The two cities were jointly selected as the city for 2024, defeating the other finalists Moscow, the Montreal-based World Design Organization announced on Wednesday morning.

The award means a global spotlight with a year of events promoting the region, including a street festival, a one-day celebration to highlight the winners’ designs, and a design conference designed to bring together people from around the world.

Previous design capitals were Seoul, Helsinki, Cape Town and Mexico City. This application was unique in that a binational region decided to apply together and won a binational region for the first time.

“The San Diego-Tijuana application demonstrates the power of design to unite and connect us despite geographical differences,” wrote Srini Srinivasan, President of World Design Capital. “Their design innovation culture and unique urban landscape were well represented throughout their application and the region stands ready to develop a WDC program that will serve as a model for other border cities around the world.”

San Diego and Tijuana rolled out the red carpet for design company CEO Bertrand Derome in October. In San Diego he visited the Rady Shell in Jacobs Park, the Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, the Design and Innovation Building of UC San Diego, Balboa Park and Chicano Park. In Tijuana he visited the Bujazán Cinema, the Playas de Tijuana Friendship Park, the Tijuana circular cultural center and was treated to local cuisine at the Tijuana Culinary Art School

A cornerstone of the entire tour was the Cross Border Xpress or CBX facility, which allows travelers from Tijuana Airport to get to the United States and vice versa with ease.

The competition goes beyond just buildings, it also examines how cities create change through design to improve the quality of life of their citizens. He said this can be done in an environmental, cultural, social or economic way.

Mayor Todd Gloria said on Facebook that the award is an opportunity to “show what a border community can do”.

The local effort was led by the San Diego-based Design Forward Alliance, which said the cost of covering fees will be met through corporate donations and a GoFundMe campaign that is still raising money. There are several groups that have partnered with the Alliance in this effort, including the Burnham Center for Community Advancement.

“This is about showing the world that we are more than just a border or two border towns,” said Michèle Morris, President of the Alliance, in a press release. “We are a regional home for 7 million people who are more alike than different and who work together in many incredible and groundbreaking ways.”

The cost of the offer is a little difficult to calculate as it is mainly based on thousands of volunteer hours and donated space. However, the fees to be requested from the World Design Organization include an application for $ 10,000 Canadian ($ 7,943) and an additional $ 25,000 Canadian ($ 19,859) for cities that will be the final shortlisted cities. The winner will be required to pay a hosting fee of Canadian $ 600,000 ($ 476,631) over the next three years.

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