The impacts of climate change are clear to see. In the UK, people just experienced the hottest June on record. And Summer 2025 is expected to break further records globally.

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of our time – a ‘permacrisis’ of issues that feels like its only getting worse - and cities are both a major cause, and areas likely to feel the brunt of climate change’s impacts.

Globally cities account for over 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of rising temperatures, sea level rise, extreme weather events, and biodiversity loss. 🌎

No matter where you’re working – whether its local government, third sector, energy, infrastructure there are some big questions that we desperately need answers to:

  • How can we ensure that cities are prepared for the uncertain and complex future that climate change will bring?

  • How can we foster urban resilience and sustainability in the face of multiple connected risks?

  • How can we harness the potential of cities as drivers of innovation and transformation?

These are some of the questions that foresight research can help us answer.

What is foresight research?

Foresight research is the systematic exploration of plausible futures and their implications for the present.

Foresight research consists of a variety of methods and tools, such as scenarios, visioning, modelling, and participatory processes, to engage with multiple stakeholders and perspectives, and to generate new insights and knowledge. 🔭

Foresight research can help us understand the dynamics and uncertainties of urban systems, and the trade-offs and connections of different policy options and interventions.

It's also a powerful way to identify and prioritize the most urgent and strategic actions, and mobilize collective action and collaboration across sectors and scales.

Using foresight in practice

There are many examples of foresight research applied to cities and climate change, such as the Foresight Future of Cities project by the UK government, the Cities and Climate Change Science Conference by the IPCC, and the Frontiers article on the challenges ahead for cities and climate change.

These initiatives demonstrate the value and potential of foresight research for informing and supporting urban policy and practice.

If you’re just getting started in foresight research there are some great resources out there to help you start to build your capability and approach to foresight work:

Futures and foresight are a great family of methods for understanding possible futures – not predicting – but exploring possibilities to help us prepare and shape it for the better.

For cities this can mean more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive communities for ourselves and future generations.

A version of this blog was originally published here.