Planning With Foresight
PAS QuickNotes 94
By Petra Hurtado, PhD
This PAS QuickNotes was developed in partnership with the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy and is free to all.
The accelerated pace of change and increased uncertainty about the future make it ever more difficult to imagine what is to come. Creating a community vision and planning for it require knowledge about potential drivers of change and a nimble process that allows planners to pivot while the future is approaching.
Foresight (also called strategic foresight) is an approach that aims at making sense of the future, understanding drivers of change that are outside of one's control, and preparing for what may lead to success or failure in the future. Applying foresight in cycles creates agility and enhances one's preparedness for disruption before it happens. In today's quickly changing world, it is important for planners to integrate foresight into their work to make their communities more resilient.
This edition of PAS QuickNotes introduces the concept of foresight to help planners imagine and prepare their communities for the future.
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About the Author
Petra Hurtado, PhD
Petra (Stieninger) Hurtado, Ph.D. is the Chief Foresight & Knowledge Officer at the American Planning Association, leading APA’s foresight practice to leverage knowledge as a catalyst for innovation and resilience in the planning profession and the organization.
She has a Ph.D. in urban planning from the Vienna University of Technology. Her areas of expertise and research include strategic foresight, urban futures and emerging technologies, urban sustainability, and environmental psychology.
Before joining APA, Petra worked as an advisor, planner, and educator in the global sustainability arena. As an adjunct professor, Petra has taught courses on planning with foresight at the University of Maryland and on urban sustainability and environmental psychology at the Vienna University of Technology. She has presented as a keynote speaker and subject matter expert at numerous conferences across the globe and guest lectured at Harvard GSD, Virginia Tech, among other universities.
Passionate about empowering people to thrive in dynamic environments, Petra combines academic rigor with practical wisdom to inspire action and drive positive change.