In a follow-up to their 10 Powerhouse Design Cities, Metropolis Magazine also reveals their choices for the "buzziest" design cities of 2018. Unlike the big-hitters of the Powerhouse category, these are a bit smaller - even scrappier - but punch far above their expected weight.
While the cities listed are far-flung and entirely unlike each other, their inclusion is marked by a common characteristic: attention to the local. For Toronto, this means large-scale cosmopolitanism at the scale of places like New York and London; the city's ongoing work with Google's Sidewalk Labs promises to transform what we understand big cities to be. In Melbourne, despite its recent dethroning from the top spot of the world's "most liveable" list, it's all about quality of life.
The cities chosen for this list may not claim the largest or most globalized design communities, but as appreciation for the local continues to grow, this isn't the disadvantage it might have once been. Their ability to focus on what matters at home is what makes their design communities particularly special.
See Metropolis Magazine’s editors’ picks for the 2018 Buzziest Design Cities feature here.
