We are pleased to be contributing to an exciting upcoming workshop called “Resilient Urban Futures.” This workshop invites academic, community, and municipal representatives from our five Local Futures communities to come together in March 2026 in Waterloo to strengthen long-term climate planning using future-foresight techniques and tools. Learning from leading experts, the workshop will showcase how practical foresight tools can help cities envision and plan for more resilient futures.
While there are growing efforts to address climate risks in cities, urban governance and planning tends to be constrained by short-term horizons and responding to immediate needs. As climate impacts will unfold over decades and necessary interventions will take years to plan and implement, it is important to bring a long-term perspective to climate mitigation and adaption.
Futures and foresight approaches support people and institutions by envisioning alternative futures, weighing short-term actions against future outcomes, and exploring the pathways that could help achieve a desired future. These approaches can help develop the imagination and practical tools that are needed to scale climate solutions and build resilient cities.
We know the Sustainable Development Goals require us to think differently about our collective future and how we can all work together to achieve it. We are excited to build on this Resilient Urban Futures workshop to explore further how future-foresight techniques can help advance the broader SDGs agenda in Canada. Stay tuned to learn more about the Resilient Urban Futures workshop.
This workshop is led by Dr. Marta Berbés-Blázquez, Assistant Professor in the School of Environment, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Waterloo and is a partnership between the University of Waterloo, the Balsillie School of International Affairs, the Waterloo Climate Institute, and our Local Futures project. Funding for this work comes from a SSHRC Connection Grant.