The 2023 Trend Report: The Future is Now

We live in a world of accelerating change and increased uncertainty. Planners help their communities navigate change and give advice on preparing for an uncertain future. However, conventional planning practices don't include the future even as they plan for it. Most plans reflect data from the past and assumptions from today, but don't represent what's on the horizon. In order to create resilient and equitable plans for the future, planners need to include the future.

This presentation describes emerging trends that will be important for planners to consider and introduces ways to make sense of the future and practice foresight in community planning. With foresight (i.e. understanding potential future trends and knowing how to prepare for them) in mind, planners can guide change, create more sustainable and equitable outcomes, and establish themselves as critical to a thriving community. The practice of foresight is imperative when preparing communities for what's coming.

NPC Peer Reviewers assigned this presentation a learning level of Intermediate. For more on learning-level descriptions, visit our General Information Page.