Place Futures Toolkit : Why the future is better together

After developing hundreds of place visions, we realised there was a problem. We worked with long time frames, often 20 to 30 years, yet people rarely spoke about future with any sense of an informed opinion. At best, they highlighted the need to remain flexible in the face of uncertainty. And while agility is great, good places also stand for something and have a clear character. We need a strong sense of place identity to unite citizens and stakeholders, attract investment and talent, and build on the layers that inform the life story of a place. We believe there is a way to stay true to a places's character, and remain confident about the future in an era of massive change. You just need the right tools and skills.

We felt there was a skillset missing from the urbanists and place makers toolbox: futures literacy. And that this skill could also open up the future of places to a much wider cohort of people, thinking well beyond disciplines. Surely the experts in a place are the people who live and know it well?

After a year of R+D we are launching series of new tools to promote futures literacy among those who work with places:
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• Place Futures Fundamentals : launching 16.10.23 in collaboration with The School of Critical Design.
This self-directed online course gives you the principles and practice as your first step towards feeling confident in working with the future.
It's great for individuals who want to understand the basics before they work more widely with futures and place tools.
Sign up here https://www.critical.design/product/place-futures

• Place Futures Toolkit : the beta edition is available in digital, printed and card format for easy use. It offers over 40 road-tested tools that we use in our workshops around the world. Taking you on a journey through insight, imagination and impact, it gives your teamthe tools to guide wider groups of stakeholders and communities through the place futures process. If you're interested in getting your hands on this limited edition drop and giving us feedback, please get in touch at chiefs@theplacebureau.com