New Publications Spotlight Scenario Planning Cases

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I’m often asked for urban scenario planning case studies, and for good reason, since studying cases is an excellent way to see how this powerful planning method can be applied. Two recent publications contain a variety of cases that complement those I include in my book.

Practitioner Uri Avin and I wrote the article “Using Exploratory Scenarios in Planning Practice: A Spectrum of Approaches,” which was published online today in the Journal of the American Planning Association (this link provides free access to first 50 visitors). The main focus of the article are to describe various ways practitioners have incorporated exploratory scenarios into urban planning contexts, and features the following short case studies:

Check out our article for an overview of the scenario portion of these fascinating, if complex, projects.

Another typical complaint is that many of the highest-profile scenario planning projects have been conducted for regions and/or have had unusually high budgets. As a result, it can be difficult to imagine how scenario planning can be applied at a smaller scale. Therefore, in a recent working paper I co-authored with research assistant David DeBoskey, “Scenario Planning for Smaller Places: Aligning Methods and Context” I specifically sought out examples of plans for neighborhoods and smaller cities and metropolitan regions to try to understand their methods and impact. This project uncovered some novel projects, and some of my favorites are:

As innovative as many of these projects are, I am excited to see how the next generation of projects will help us better address issues like pandemic-related health and economic challenges, climate resilience, and rapidly changing urban technologies.

Author: Rob Goodspeed