Abstract
The transition to a less carbon-dependent society is arguably one of the most pressing issues of our time. As carbon is deeply embedded in contemporary western culture, this transition requires a deep reconsideration of cultural values. Art and design can be helpful in opening up this debate and imagining alternative futures. However, not much is known about how such interventions work. In this exploratory paper, we analyse a futuring intervention in which we were closely involved as organisers and curators–the Post-Fossil City Contest. This international competition aimed at imagining a city beyond carbon received 250 entries and resulted in a public exhibition at the municipal building in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The ideas developed by the finalists of the Post-Fossil City Contest inspired us to develop the notion of ‘imaginative logics’: the set of principles underlying or constituting an imaginative intervention, by means of which an abstract phenomenon is made present to the audience. Linking our empirical observations to the speculative design and experiential futures literature, we distinguish between doable, juxtaposing, defamiliarizing, guerilla and procedural imaginative logics. This typology can be a starting point for further research into how and when to apply what kind of futuring intervention.
Highlights
The transition to a more sustainable world is arguably one the most pressing issues of our time
In order to better distinguish between the different ways in which futuring interventions may manage speculation about the future to engage their audiences, we introduce the concept of ‘imaginative logic’, which we define as the set of principles underlying or constituting an imaginative intervention, by means of which an abstract phenomenon is made present to the audience
On the basis of both the Post-Fossil City Contest and a reading of the experiential futures and speculative design literature, we introduce a tentative typology of imaginative logics and, with that, of the various ways in which an imagination might make an abstract phenomenon like ‘the future’ present to its audience
Summary
The transition to a more sustainable world is arguably one the most pressing issues of our time. Given the fact that fossil fuels are a deeply engrained aspect of current societies, a ‘deep transition’ is required, in which practices, culture and social arrangements are rethought (Schot & Kanger, 2018). At this time, our ability to envision climate change is limited. Climate change is typically illustrated through the image of melting ice (Doyle, 2007) In reflecting on this kind of discourse, various authors point out that we face a ‘crisis of the imagination’, and that we lack the stories necessary to come to grips with the elusive topic of climate change (Ghosh, 2016; Morton, 2013)
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