Anticipation in Built Environment Design

Present times are characterized by increasing levels of unpredictability, uncertainty, and instability with a background of accelerated rhythms of change and of long-term economic, but also ideological, political, and spiritual crisis situations leading to frequent paradigm shifts. These circumstances render futures studies and anticipative processes particularly relevant, justifying a special attention to the subject. Taking a longer time to be shaped, the built environment is highly sensitive to current trends and is also implicitly related to the future. Besides, given its influence on people’s well-being and general performance, its optimal configuration may be considered as a general interest issue. Although it has been some time since theories in the field of anticipation were proposed, and under various names, their implementation at the territorial level is of a relatively recent date; hence, there are still important gaps to bridge. This contribution investigates the possible applications of futures studies , and more specifically of the anticipative processes in the design and management of the built environment, with reference also to other contemporary concepts like sustainable development, strategic planning, resilience, and creativity. The analysis is set out on the three scales judged as representative for scholars as well as for a general audience, namely, building, city, and territory. Taking the view that the association of built environment design and anticipation is particularly advantageous and productive, the authors aim to succinctly present different approaches and practical experiences in the field, while also providing several useful elements for the further development of the corresponding theory and applications.