FUTURES

Futures in Planning

Processes and methods used to envision, anticipate, and shape future urban and regional developments.

Prefigurative Planning

The concept of performing the future in the present by envisioning and enacting concrete utopias.

Concrete Utopias

Action-based visions that are grounded in the present and aim to realize not-yet-realized possibilities.

Scenario Building

The process of creating and using scenarios to explore different future possibilities and inform planning decisions.

Guidance Document

A framework for building and using scenarios in environmental and spatial planning.

Scenario Application

Discusses how scenarios can be used to guide policy decisions and planning strategies.

Time as a Social Construct

Futures are socially constructed and can be changed through planning and decision-making.

Imagination and Futures

The use of imagination to construct collective visions of the future.

Politics of Future Planning

Acknowledges that the power to produce and present futures is unevenly distributed.

Negating the Given

Challenging assumptions and envisioning alternative futures.

Living Labs

Experimental spaces where new ideas and technologies are tested in real-world settings.

Hackathons

Collaborative events where participants develop innovative solutions to planning challenges.

Descriptive Scenarios

Scenarios that expand upon certain policies.

Normative Scenarios

Scenarios that explore changing values and new policy objectives.

Benefits of Scenarios

Help planners anticipate future challenges and explore different possibilities.

Vision for the Future Spatial Plan

A developed vision for a specific urban area using normative scenarios.

Steps in Building Scenarios

Deciding target audience, defining objectives and scope, scenario building, method selection, and project organization.

Integrating Scenarios

Using scenarios in planning processes to guide policy decisions and strategies.

Collective Visions of the Future

Visions reflecting diverse perspectives and interests.

Power imbalances in Planning

Some futures may remain invisible due to exclusionary practices.