Decolonizing the Future: An Inclusive Approach to Futures
PAS QuickNotes 110
This edition of PAS QuickNotes is available free to all.
By Petra Hurtado with Destiny Brown
Planners shape the future of communities. In this work, different power dynamics can influence who has a say in that future and what the envisioned future might look like. Futures literacy and foresight methods can help to create more resilient and equitable plans. However, if the plausible futures we imagine aren't developed through an inclusive approach, they won't lead to a truly equitable future. Additionally, foresight methods originated in military strategy and corporate business planning for war games and profit-making. When applying foresight to urban planning, the focus should be on serving the common good. To achieve equitable outcomes, we must rethink how we approach, imagine, and discuss futures.
Background
Decolonizing the future requires imagining and co-creating many possible futures that encompass all identities, values, experiences, and perspectives. Credit Jupiterimages/The Image Bank
One approach to inclusive futures increasingly discussed in futures work is decolonizing the future. This approach is not about revisiting the colonial period. Instead, it is about questioning the continuation of past and present systems, envisioning multiple futures by integrating diverse perspectives, and ensuring the resulting outcomes are translated into actions. Decolonizing the future is not just about inclusion, representation, or who is in the room. It is about creating safe spaces for historically marginalized worldviews and cultural identities, moving away from one dominant perspective, and encouraging the imagination and co-creation of many possible futures that encompass all identities, values, experiences, and perspectives.
This involves challenging our mental models and unlearning cultural norms that uphold hierarchical worldviews while redefining "expertise" and shifting power to those most burdened. It also means accepting that we don't have all the answers. The future is not one single vision but a collective of imagined futures shaped by people of all backgrounds — different races, abilities, cultures, and socioeconomic statuses.
Planners play a crucial role in creating these decolonial futures by integrating collective imaginations in their planning efforts. This is a constant learning process, and the first step is to foster futures literacy and futures thinking within our communities, empowering people to shape their future together. Planners can begin this process by asking the following three questions.
Whose Future Are We Talking About?
Visions of the future are often dominated by tech-centric, white, and Western perspectives, which risks limiting how we envision change. Imagining the future is about gaining the power to shape it. Limiting our view to the dominant perspective risks replicating the mistakes of the past. History, often written by the victors, presents a singular narrative, neglecting other perspectives that remain unheard. Envisioning the future from only one vantage point can lead to the same exclusion.
Futures thinking is about people: the people who will be living in the future. Planners must understand the diverse cultural views of those whose futures we are imagining and integrate different worldviews and their interconnections. For example, in the Western world, time is typically seen as linear — an arrow pointing from present to future — but some cultures view time as circular. Similarly, different religions have varying beliefs on whether and how humans can shape the future or if only a supreme being has that ability and power. Such alternative understandings should expand our imaginings.
Decolonizing the future also requires personal transformation and critical reflexivity. It challenges ingrained notions of power, control, profit, and individualism; encourages empathy and solidarity; and prioritizes the collective well-being of those whose future we plan for. Planners must remove themselves as the "experts" and embrace discomfort, confront difficult truths, and engage in challenging conversations. Rather than imposing solutions, fostering dialogue is key.
Who Will Be Living in That Future?
The future belongs to those who will inhabit it. This includes children — and those who aren't yet born.
The idea of thinking about future generations is not new. Indigenous peoples, namely the Haudenosaunee, have long embraced the Seventh Generation principle: considering how decisions today will impact seven generations into the future. This concept is gaining traction in the Western world as many of today's global challenges (such as climate change) extend beyond a single lifespan. But though the term "future generations" was used in the 1987 Brundtland Report definition of sustainable development, the concept has not been included in politics or planning for sustainability.
Including far-out futures in today's planning is challenging. People often struggle to act proactively when the impacts of a problem are not immediately felt, and focusing on the future can be hard when the present is overwhelming. Despite this, momentum is building. In September 2024, the UN's Summit of the Future focused on finding ways to include youth and consider future generations in decision-making, culminating in the Declaration on Future Generations, a commitment to govern with future generations in mind. While local planning does not yet often address future generations, some communities have started to involve children and youth in their planning processes. Change won't happen overnight, but we need to continue fostering these approaches and integrating them into planning.
What's the Role of Planners?
Planners can use the future to bring people together in the present. They can empower community members to imagine their futures and engage them in creating change. They can create spaces for meaningful conversations and synthesize collective visions into actionable plans. Decolonization is a strategic action for the present, not just an idealized future.
Planners can play a central role in decolonizing the future by eliminating biases in community planning, leveraging ideas from the margins, and fostering a grassroots approach to co-creation. Community empowerment is central, with initiatives designed to enable communities to take control of their futures and contribute their unique perspectives. When synthesizing various perspectives on futures, planners must facilitate dialogues in a way that allows all voices to be heard and difficult conversations to be embraced. Storytelling can be a powerful practice. However, storytelling can involve many languages, and written words are not always the default mode of expression.
Conclusions
Decolonizing the future will be an ongoing, intergenerational process challenging current ways of living and promoting continuous learning, unlearning, and action. Hope for the future lies in making strategic decisions today to transcend colonial legacies and co-create inclusive futures where all people are acknowledged, respected, and protected. This will require planners to move beyond theoretical discussions and towards the practical integration of shared wisdom, experiences, and cultures into planning and development to ensure sustainability and equity for future generations.
This PAS QuickNotes was prepared by Petra Hurtado, PhD, chief foresight and knowledge officer at the American Planning Association, with Destiny Brown, MS in urban planning, University of New Orleans.
FURTHER READING
Published by the American Planning Association
Hurtado, Petra. 2021. "Planning With Foresight." PAS QuickNotes 94.
Hurtado, Petra, Ievgeniia Dulko, Joseph DeAngelis, Senna Catenacci, Sagar Shah, and Scarlet Andrzejczak. 2024. 2024 Trend Report for Planners. Chicago: American Planning Association and Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.
Other Resources
Bhagat, Alisha, Aarathi Krishnan, Tulsi Parida, Mansi Parikh, Nour Batyne, Wayne Pan, and the Diaspora Futures Collective. 2021. "What Does It Mean to Decolonize the Future?" Medium, March 12.
Jae, Kevin. 2023. "Decolonizing Futures Practice: Opening Up Authentic Alternative Futures." Journal of Futures Studies 28(1).
Larsen, Nicklas, Jeanette Kæseler Mortensen, and Riel Miller. 2020. "What Is 'Futures Literacy' and Why Is It Important?" Medium/published in FARSIGHT, February 11.
PAS QuickNotes 110 | January 2025. PAS QuickNotes (ISSN 2169-1940) is a publication of the American Planning Association's Planning Advisory Service (PAS). Joel Albizo, FASAE, CAE, Chief Executive Officer; Petra Hurtado, PhD, Chief Foresight and Knowledge Officer; Ann Dillemuth, AICP, PAS Editor. © 2025 American Planning Association, 205 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 1200, Chicago, IL 60601-5927; planning.org. All rights reserved. APA permits the reproduction and distribution of PAS QuickNotes to educate public officials and others about important planning-related topics. Visit PAS online at planning.org/pas to find out how PAS can work for you.