New initiative helps urban developments through design

on Wednesday,April 27,2011 22:04

The World Design Capital (WDC) initiative is becoming more popular around the world. The program's creator, International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), had over 50 cities submit applications to be the next designation city, according to Dexinger.

The WDC, which started in 2004, is about to embark on its fourth project. The first one was in 2008 in Torino, Italy, where design components helped the city's economic situations and other types of issues in its urban development.The other two cities that received the designation are Seoul, South Korea and Helsinki, Finland. The next one will be chosen out of 56 cities in 24 countries, according to the media outlet.

"The design choices that cities make will have far-reaching consequences for the quality of lives of its citizens and the environment in the years to come," Edna dos Santos-Duisenberg, the chief of the Switzerland-based Creative Industries Programme of UNCTAD, told the news source.

Prospective industrial designers may need to factor in the environment in their visions as the years progress. The employment for individuals in this profession is expected to increase nine percent between 2008 and 2018, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.