Urban Futures Studio

AI images for dreaming or ghosting? There is much to say about the implications of using AI to depict so-called better worlds, with already numerous critiques of bias, labour exploitation, and energy unsustainability. Or even worse, the...

Read the new #UtopianPulses blogpost ‘AI Images for dreaming or ghosting?’ where @jochamb.bsky.social invites us into an experiment with students, who were asked to choose an emerging technology and use AI to generate images of two possible futures in 2060. www.uu.nl/en/opinion/a...

What does the future of ecology & belonging look like? From indigenous & decolonial perspectives to conservatism & eco-fascism.

Join Dr Timothy Stacey @godsandsods.bsky.social as he explores possibilities for a new political space.

📅 Book your free place: www.tickettailor.com/events/faith...

Beleid maken voor een radicale tijd - Universiteit Utrecht In deze Mixed Classroom gaan we in op de vraag hoe overheid en samenleving hun onderlinge relatie kunnen herijken. Daarbij stellen we ‘futuring’ centraal.

Ben jij een (beleids)professional, betrokken bij het thema 'Transities in een radicale tijd'? Ben je benieuwd naar hoe je #futuring kan toepassen in je eigen werk & naar leren met én van ambitieuze masterstudenten? Meld je nu aan voor de #MixedClassroom professionals.uu.nl/nl/cursus/be...

🌿Mid-term conference in #Tartu this month - We discussed ways to strengthen interdisciplinary research on #ClimateEmotions, innovative methodologies and staged an interactive #deliberative #democratic assembly on #ClimatePolitics led by @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social @futuresstudiouu.bsky.social

Photo of Mixed Classroom students tilting their head during a presentation with text layover 'The Mixed Classroom 2025-2026 — Making Policy for a Radical Age' Utrecht University logo, Urban Futures Studio

How to address the rapid evaporation of democratic norms, and engage with sustainability concerns against that backdrop? What can policy do in such a time? Last call for students at @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social (and beyond) to sign up for our #MixedClassroom course: www.uu.nl/en/research/...

People visiting the 'Four Futures for 2054' exhibition, the closing event of the Mixed Classroom '24-'25

Mixed Classroom students tilting their heads during a presentation.

Ambitious @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social master students can now apply for our #MixedClassroom course. Learn from and with societal actors, exploring how #TechniquesOfFuturing and #Dramaturgy shape our collective capacity to imagine and act towards sustainable futures. www.uu.nl/en/research/...

Waarom het klimaatdebat aanvoelt als een film die we al honderd keer hebben gezien Het klimaatdebat is voorspelbaar geworden. Volgens politicologen Maarten Hajer en Jeroen Oomen spelen politici, wetenschappers, activisten en journalisten krampachtig steeds hetzelfde toneelstuk, keer...

Luister of lees 'Waarom het klimaatdebat aanvoelt als en film die we al honderd keer hebben gezien', waarin @maartenhajer.bsky.social en Jeroen Oomen in gesprek gaan met journalist @jelmermommers.bsky.social over #CapturedFutures @decorrespondent.nl

Nirvana band photo

Young teens wearing baggy jeans. Listening to Nirvana. On a Walkman. Have you fallen through a time portal? No. It’s just the latest trend. Could this 90s revival culture help people embrace a fossil-free future? Read @godsandsods.bsky.social's new #ClimateConfessions blog www.uu.nl/en/opinion/s...

The #NoKings protests this weekend were a great example of Dramaturgies of Change in action. | Timothy Stacey The #NoKings protests this weekend were a great example of Dramaturgies of Change in action. By adopting the upside down national flag, previously used by Dutch farmers resisting nitrogen regulations...

Our reaction to #NoKings: Dramaturgically speaking, the resistance is finally finding it’s rhythm

www.linkedin.com/posts/timoth...

Bookcover 'Captured Futures — Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politcs' by Maarten A. Hajer & Jeroen Oomen

Captured Futures: Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politics is officially out! Huge congratulations to @maartenhajer.bsky.social & Jeroen Oomen. Their new book is a must-read for anyone who is interested in how we can move from captured to captivating #futures. www.uu.nl/en/research/...

Embodying transitions: what transitions studies can learn from transgender experiences — with Riley Tsang Join the Urban Futures Studio on May 26th for an engaging Friends of the Future seminar with Riley Tsang, a creative facilitator from Taiwan and the US Midwest working as the Global Engagement Special...

Join us this afternoon for a #FriendsOfTheFuture seminar with Riley Tsang 'Embodying transitions: what transitions studies can learn from transgender experiences' www.uu.nl/en/events/em... #Futures #Futuring #Transitions #TransExperiences

Shaping the future: a conceptual review of sociotechnical imaginaries. Read the Urban Futures Studio. Utrecht University logo.

Read 'Shaping the future: A conceptual review of sociotechnical imaginaries', a new paper by @ahendriks.bsky.social Kamilla Karhunmaa & Pierre Delvenne. They examine the evolution of the concept and engagement with it across disciplines. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... #Futures #Imaginaries

Watch the guest lecture "Captured Futures: Producing the inevitability of solar geoengineering" Jeroen Oomen gave on April 22nd at the The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University: www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9fo... @harvardsalata.bsky.social #CapturedFutures

Bookcover 'Captured Futures' by Maarten Hajer and Jeroen Oomen on green background

On 3 June, @maartenhajer.bsky.social and Jeroen Oomen present their new book “Captured Futures - Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politics” at Pakhuis de Zwijger, together with experts Marianne Minnesma, Bart van den Hurk, and Ralien Bekkers. dezwijger.nl/programma/ca... #CapturedFutures

Read 'Dramaturgies of change: Staging political transformation', a new paper by @godsandsods.bsky.social, Jeroen Oomen, @jessehoffman.bsky.social & @maartenhajer.bsky.social

Captured Futures - Rethinking the Drama of Environmental Politics by @maartenhajer.bsky.social & Jeroen Oomen offers a compelling critique of how environmental politics ‘as we know it’ cannot deliver. Now available online for subscribers: academic.oup.com/book/59970?l... @oxfordunipress.bsky.social

Stimulation or manipulation? The power of immersive storytelling.

Join us on April 28th for a #FriendsOfTheFuture seminar with Femke Bijlsma, partner and content developer at the international design studio Kossmandejong. Are you interested in exploring how to create compelling stories that matter? learn more and register here: www.uu.nl/en/events/st...

The Utopia*Art*Politics Collection The concept of utopia has a dark colonial past that lives on through overgrown dreams that leave little space for other possible futures. The Utopia*Art*Politics Collection explores the alternative po...

| Blog | Read @jochamb.bsky.social new blog post where she introduces the Utopia*Art*Politics Collection; a multi-media collection of provocations and insights by 33 artist-researcher-practitioners who participated in the Utopia*Art*Politics Sessions last year: www.uu.nl/en/opinion/t...

Deana Jovanović presenting in the Urban Futures Studio

Deana Jovanović presenting in the Urban Futures Studio

Bookcover ‘Staging the Promises’ by Deana Jovanović

Today, our colleague dr. Deana Jovanović joined us for the #FriendsOfTheFuture seminar about her new book ‘Staging the Promises — Everyday Future-Making in a Serbian Industrial Town’. Sign up for our events mailing list to receive an invite for the next seminar: mailings.uu.nl/hp/NxTyEInP4...

Danny Steur giving a presentation. On his left a slide with an illustration and text "Insensible Depths: Relating to the Non-Relational in Drexciyan Afrofuturism"

Meet our new colleague: @lcdanny.bsky.social
In his PhD research, he will examine how structures of mediatization impact the collective politics of sustainability transitions and why it seems so difficult to imagine desirable futures within our contemporary media landscape. www.uu.nl/staff/DSteur

We are in much need of inspiration in these treacherous uncertain times… Thrilled to share the 𝗨𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗮*𝗔𝗿𝘁*𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, an edited multi-media collection which brings together diverse ideas on how artistic practices can help reimagine and remake our world. Download: www.uu.nl/en/research/...

Friends of the Future seminar 'Staging the Promises: Everyday Future-Making in a Serbian Industrial Town — with Deana Jovanovic'.

Join us on April 8th for an engaging Friends of the Future seminar with dr. Deana Jovanović. Guest panellists prof. Kei Otsuki and dr. @jessehoffman.bsky.social join Deana to discuss her new book 'Staging the Promises - Everyday Future-Making in a Serbian Industrial Town'. www.uu.nl/en/events/st...

Jeroen Oomen lecturing in a green house. On his left a slide about 'sociotechnical imaginaries'

Timothy Stacey lecturing. On his right a slide titled 'The Rationality Delusion: Religious Repertoires at the Science-Policy interface'

Maarten Hajer lecturing in a green house. On his right a slide about 'dramaturgy'

🚨Today's the last day to apply for our #FuturingForSustainability summer school. From 7 — 11 July, we are organising a course featuring exciting talks & interactive sessions with Jeroen Oomen, @godsandsods.bsky.social @maartenhajer.bsky.social
and others: utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci...

Professor Flor Avelino lecturing during 'Futuring for Sustainability summer school 2024' in a green house.

Summer school participants sitting outside and discussing.

Group photo of summer school participants, in a green house.

Summer school participant presenting and holding up a flip-over sheet together with lecturer Maarten Hajer

This July, political scientist @floravelino.bsky.social is joining us for the #FuturingForSustainability summer school. She is a professor of Organisations & Sustainability at the Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development. 🚨1 day left to apply: utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci...

dr. Shivant Jhagroe lecturing during 'Futuring for Sustainability' summer school, at the Utrecht Botanical Gardens.

Summer school participant comments during lecture, while other participants listen to her.

Summer school participants sitting outside at the Utrecht Botanical Gardens, listening to a lecture.

Green and pink coloured bookcover 'Voorbij Duurzaamheid' by Shivant Jhagroe. 'Op weg naar een ecorechtvaardige samenleving.

We're happy to welcome back Shivant Jhagroe for our upcoming #FuturingForSustainability summer school. He is assistant prof. at the Institute of Public Administration @unileiden.bsky.social & author of 'Voorbij Duurzaamheid' (Beyond Sustainability). Apply now: utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci...

Paul 't Hart wearing black frames and a dark green button-up shirt

Participants of a summer school sitting in groups, listening to a lecture and making notes.

Participants of a summer school sitting outside in groups, discussing.

A participant of the summer school holds a white poster in his hand while presenting an idea to fellow participants.

From 7-11 July, we are organising our #Futuring for #Sustainability summer school featuring exciting talks and interactive sessions. One of our guest lecturers is public administration expert professor Paul 't Hart. Learn more (5 days left to apply): utrechtsummerschool.nl/courses/soci...

Critical materials and critical stories — A participatory exhibition and conversation series with cases from West-Papua, the DRC, ande more.

This April, the #PathwaysToSustainability program of @utrechtuniversity.bsky.social is organizing a series of discussions and a participatory exhibition exploring the issues surrounding the new gold rush for critical minerals. Learn more: www.uu.nl/en/events/cr...

Woman signing a form on a dining table dressed with a small Dutch flag

Woman wearing a reflective headscarf points people into another direction.

A group of people sitting at a dining table full of local produce.

Group of people in a low light space looking at a person in a blue hazmat suit behind a laptop.

This January, participants of our 9th #MixedClassroom course presented their reflections on our radical times in the form of the exhibition 'Beyond the End - Four Futures for 2054' that presented four visions of what the Netherlands might be like in the future. Learn more: www.uu.nl/en/research/...

Onderzoekers werken in groepen op de buitenplaats van De Lik, Utrecht, tijdens het kick-off event van het Academy of Hope project

#Vacature Wij zoeken een nieuwe postdoc onderzoeker voor ons #AcademyOfHope project. In deze positie onderzoek je de wijze waarop het faciliteren van gesprekken, binnen & buiten het onderwijs, kan bijdragen aan een meer hoopvolle omgang met de toekomst. Reageer voor 11-04: www.uu.nl/organisatie/...

Guest researcher Sören Altstaedt, of the Max Planck institute for the study of societies, just gave an intriguing #FriendsOfTheFuture seminar about the limits to growth debates in 1970s. Sign up for our events mailing list to receive an invite for the next seminar: mailings.uu.nl/hp/NxTyEInP4...