The consultation programme was designed with several principles in mind:
Maximize collaborative working time. The consultation was designed to maximize the time for participants to work closely with each other in small group discussions. This facilitated optimal information exchange and network experience.
Harnessing Collective Insight. The participants were experts in each of the topic areas. The design of the programme aimed to harness the collective intelligence and experience of the participants in order to produce new insights and perspectives about the future of urban living.
In designing the Consultation, the aim was to:
- Bring together 20 invited global experts. The consultation guests were from key areas such as climate change, energy, food, agriculture, urban planning, architecture, transportation, sociology and work. These individuals brought recognised expertise to the discussion but, equally importantly, a clear sense of the relationship between their expertise and the future of urban living.
- Create a practical scenario driven and foresight orientated process. The key features of the consultation included an exploration into future trends and emergent issues. The consultation developed plausible scenarios for the future of urban living in 2050. Plausibility mapping further tested the scenarios. The scenarios were tested with regards to shocks, opportunities and unexpected events.
- Understand the complexity of the topic. This consultation process outlined the complex and interrelated forces that are combining to shape the future of urban living in 2050. The scenario development throughout the consultation enabled the production of four plausible scenarios, exploring the future of urban living.
