Shaping Regional Futures

This book discusses the role of regional design and visioning in the formation of regional territorial governance to offer a better understanding of (1) how a recognition of spatial dynamics and the visualization of spatial futures informs, and is informed by, planning frameworks and (2) how such design processes inform co-operation and collaboration on planning in metropolitan regions. It gathers theoretical reflections on these topics, and illustrates them by means of practical experiences in several European countries. Innovatively associating ideas with knowledge, it appeals to anyone with an interest in planning experiments in a post-regulative era. It aims at an increased understanding of how practices, engaged with the imagination of possible futures, support the creation of institutional capacity for strategic spatial planning at regional scales.

When we hear terms such as city, city-region or region we rarely pay attention to the role of imagination in theformation, preservation and decline of these spatial imaginaries. Yet, imagination, as socio-cognitive function of our minds, enables us to generate images of a world that is no longer, or not yet, real; and of places that are not perceivable with our senses. This book presents a promising way forward for a deeper understanding of design as an imaginative and creative practice and its role in spatial planning and rescaling of governance. The book provides an excellent and diverse range of case studies from across Europe to show how the interrelationships between design, visioning, planning and governing are unfolded in practice.
Professor Simin Davoudi, Director of Global Urban Research Unit (GURU), Newcastle University, UK