Future Histories of the City

One of the short comings of the 20th century urbanism discourse with regards to new visions of the future was their inability to escape fantasy. Almost all examples of the canon which speculated on the future of the city was in a race to out-fantasy the other, relying heavily on the idealism of technological novelty, unable to engage plausibility as though the future as a concept existed outside of a tangible realm. Times have changed; politics evolved, domesticated new technologies hyper-advanced our interactions and transactions through digital realm. The global society transformed radically, still transforming ever so rapidly. With undeniable domination of neo-liberal economic policies across the globe and the end of the welfare-state, larger ambitions of urbanism to project the future of society mostly diminished around the world. Currently though, we are going through another significant moment of cultural awakening and potential social transformation towards a more environmentally aware, just and equal society. It is a critical moment to contemplate the future projections of current pressures on potential transformations of the city. But, how does one predict such futures? How does one represent such futures? How does one design for such futures?