Mexico City

The 2018 World Design Capital may be home to world-class, cosmopolitan design, but its architectural community is coalescing around a new mandate to help those in need— both in the core and on the periphery.

- Anna Fixsen

When Mexico City was named the 2018 World Design Capital three years ago, it settled on the theme “Diseño Socialmente Responsable” (Socially Responsible Design). In an announcement last April, the program’s director, Emilio Cabrero, said the topic signified “a moment for design professionals, creatives, and the general public alike to come together.”

But the mandate was thrust into practice all too soon. On September 19, 2017, a 7.1-magnitude earthquake ripped through the city and the surrounding region, killing more than 300 people. While the response in Mexico City’s center was swift, aid for the neediest—those living on the city’s periphery and across the states of Oaxaca, Puebla, and Morelos—became virtually stagnant.