What is a design metropolis? Should a city aspire to become one?
A symposium called New Design Cities was organized by Marie-Josée Lacroix for the Canadian Centre for Architecture; Doors contributed a speaker and communications support.
The event cast a critical eye over the policies and programs of Montreal, Saint-Etienne and other aspirant design cities, and compared them with established international design capitals.
Francois Barré (France) and Saskia Sassen (United States) were keynote lecturers. There were also presentations from Antwerp, Times Square New York, Lisbon, and Stockholm.
A book of the symposium was later published.
And here is a version of John Thackara’s Montreal lecture, Creativity and the City.