Urban Futures: Palimpsest of the Imagination

How and why should we imagine new, positive urban futures? As we look forwards, the world seems highly likely to be shaped by its cities. We sense that cities will become the ultimate destination of future generations and they will play a crucial role in the lives of everyone around the globe. How these cities look, feel and operate has long been, and will continue to be, an important series of issues. Urban futures have been conceived throughout history but their paths are increasingly critical as we seek to develop sustainable practices and environments for our collective tomorrow. The role of imagination is fundamental to processes of conceptualisation, envisioning and performing urban futures. The importance of such creativity extends in other ways to their questioning of reality, reshaping our spatial conceptions or providing expressions of alternatives. With challenging ecological, economic, political and social contexts for our urban futures, how can they be designed, built and managed?