Under the direction of Marie-Jose Lacroix. Montreal: Pyramyd, 2005.
Following a partnership that developed between the cities of Montreal and Saint-tienne at the 2002 Biennale Internationale Design de Saint-tienne, a symposium on New Design Cities was held in October 2004 at Montreal’s Canadian Centre for Architecture, the subject of which forms the thesis of this book. Under the direction of Marie-Jose Lacroix, Design Commissioner for the City of Montreal, New Design Cities contains essays by Franois Barr, Saskia Sassen and John Thackara, as well as various quotes and contributions from emerging and established designers, elected officials and interested citizens. Furthermore, a section is dedicated to each of seven successful examples of design cities. Here, Montreal is featured in an international context, sharing space with Antwerp, Glasgow, Lisbon, Saint-tienne, Stockholm, and New York’s Times Square. Through case studies which analyze the actions and events behind the emergence of these seven cities as design cities, the book aims to isolate and articulate the elements that constitute a design city, how this status is to be achieved, and the advantages in urban economic health and development that it promises. Clearly, part of the process lies in the formation and implementation of policies and programs that encourage design quality.