Applying foresight to shape a city's future

‘Global warming has only made life worse – temperatures continue to rise, water shortages increase. Health indicators worsen’

How people conceive of their city’s future is important
in shaping how the city’s future unfolds.

Mayors, CEOs, citizens and policy analysts are working to create uplifting images of their future cities. Their intended result is clear unifying visions for the city futures they desire.

So how can foresight make a difference in cities?

The first way foresight improves cities is through visioning projects. The City of Greater Geelong is aiming to look ahead 20 to 30 years through its first visioning and strategy project, Geelong 2040. Interviewed about this, Geelong City CEO Kelvin Spiller said:

Geelong 2040 will be a city-changing experience, for the long-term betterment of its residents and stakeholders. City visioning will be supported by community engagement. In the same manner that corporate engagement helps the carriage of new innovations upwards, visioning can do this for the planning of urban areas.

Perhaps longer-term visioning should be legislated to encourage managers to help cascade preferences upward and not only into the city vision.

Read the views of Futurist from the University of the Sunshine Coast, Colin Russo, on The Conversation - “A tale of five cities: applying foresight to shape their futures.”