A futures thinking method
Visioning
Describe a preferred future in vivid detail, then work backwards to the steps that could lead there.
Draft, to be confirmed by Dr. John.Most plans start from today and ask what is possible. Visioning starts from the future you actually want, described concretely enough to picture — then stands in it and looks back. Working backwards from there (backcasting) turns a wish into a sequence of things that had to happen, and the first of them is usually something you could start this year.
How it works
- Describe the future you actually want, concretely.
- Stand in it and look back.
- Name the three things that had to happen first.
You’ll try it on Dubai in 2050 — and what would have had to change by next year.
Module 6 · Biomimicry and Regenerative Design2. Stand in 2050 and look back. What had to be true just before this? And before that?
- 2045 Every new district designed to give back more than it takes
- 2038 Coastal mangrove belt restored along the shoreline
- 2032 Biomimetic cooling required in building codes
- 2027 Student-led pilot: a passively cooled classroom
3. Walk the path back to today
Your first step, "Student-led pilot: a passively cooled classroom", could start within a year. The vision is connected to the present.
Method source: Elise Boulding, imaging the future workshops; John B. Robinson, backcasting (1982)