Co-Producing the Future: Imaginaries at Work in Spatial Planning Practice

Abstract

Two emblematic products of imagination reflect contrasting attitudes toward the future. The film Back to the Future evokes a nostalgic longing for a ‘good world’, while Paul Klee’s Angelus Novus embodies the inevitable trail of destruction left by progress. Such tensions are inherent in collaborative spatial planning, where stakeholders are often guided – consciously or not – by divergent imaginaries. Co-producing a shared future requires the alignment of these imaginaries. Generative metaphors can serve as catalysts for convergence. This paper presents a case study that explores how such metaphors can be used to strengthen coherence among fragmented projects and different stakeholder perspectives. While this experimental attempt yielded mixed results, the concept of ‘correspondence’ – supported by evocative ‘thought-images’ – emerges as a promising avenue for enhancing collective spatial imagination.