In Buenos Aires, creativity is seen as a key factor in economic and social development. The city has a consolidated creative sector that has grown rapidly in recent years. Between 2004 and 2012 the sector grew 89.1% in real terms and today represents up to 8.6 % of the city's GDP and 9.1 % of the city's workforce, employing almost 150,000 people.
The Ministry of Economic Development of Buenos Aires promotes the growth of the creative industries through a district development policy. It incorporates economic incentives to promote the establishment of creative industries in specific districts; undertakes major public works projects to redress inequalities in infrastructure and transport connectivity; and fosters the recovery of public areas for recreation and socialization. This policy is implemented in four underdeveloped neighborhoods, each devoted to a specific sector: technology, audiovisual, arts and design.
The Design District was created in 2014 to concentrate the city’s design industry and services in a specific territory and thus create a design intensive manufacturing cluster. The Metropolitan Design Center (CMD), established in the heart of this district, is the major design and industrial institution of the city. Its main objectives are to encourage private and public design-related initiatives; support the sector’s internationalization and contribute to turning Buenos Aires into a benchmark of design in Latin America. Additionally the CMD hosts the International Festival of Design, an event addressing professionals, students and the public at large which showcases sustainable and socially inclusive design.
Through public-private partnerships, Buenos Aires has been able to harness the energy of its design sector for the development of innovative initiatives on the local, regional and international levels. Spanning the fields of fashion, architecture, industrial, interior and urban design with a keen focus on incorporating the latest technology and know-how, Buenos Aires is a city that inspires design.
Added Value:
As a Creative City of Design, Buenos Aires envisages:
`positioning the city as an international reference for design and fostering the internationalization of the design sector;
`promoting the creation and development of local creative industries and enhancing private and public initiatives related to the city’s design sector;
`promoting creativity and creative expressions, especially among vulnerable groups and local communities; and
`enhancing cooperation with other cities from the design subnetwork in particular and with the UCCN in general, to foster sustainable and inclusive development.