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News & event archive

2025 (Q1&2)

  • Urban Futures Forum, 9th July 2025. This program explores the dynamic cycle of change, the likely nexus of catastrophe, and the potential ‘connexus’ of transformation… here we look at the case of  ‘Urban Shrinkage in China’ with guest speaker Prof. Kai Zhou, University of Hunan. 
  • Urban Resilience Forum,10th July 2025: with accelerating ‘urban whiplash’ of extreme heat/fire / storm/flood, and tipping points of ‘new world disorder’ … here we map a bigger picture of system level resilience, and extend the 2015 ‘City Resilience Framework’ with mapping of examples in progress. 
  • Foresight 3.0 interactive workshop & keynote at the Future4Europe  Vienna May15-16 – Future-Oriented Collective Intelligence (‘FOCI’) for complex interconnected challenges & opportunities
  • the Foresight 3.0 special issue published Feb 2025  with 11 excellent papers, will also be launched in Vienna
  • Keynote & book launch – Eco-opolis – space&place at the International Round Table »The guardian of the space??« April 24-26th, Fortress of Culture Šibenik, Croatia,
  • Durham Energy Council 15 & 29th July – the unborn descendants meet the ancestors who saw it all coming…. details to follow
  • Peri-urban Global Initiative – workshop / conference on Global South peri-urban challenges & opportunities – at IIT Madras
  • 2025 PROSPECT – a ‘Loop-onomix’ collaborative mapping at https://kumu.io/Joeravetz/loop-onomix-test#untitled-map – also visualized here as a game where the winners are survivors who find ways to co-operate

  • Joe Ravetz’s journey of ideas is featured along with 40 other global thought leaders of the GTI network, in this unique collection – https://greattransition.org/gti-forum/memoirs-global-engagement  

2024

  • As a modest contribution to Asia-Pacific futures – the Deeper City book is now available in Vietnamese at Thanh-pho-sau-hon …. (Chinese version is in discussion..)

Future-wise / city-wise themes:

Eco-wise theme:

  • ‘Beyond & between – the global compendium of Peri-Urban-Rural Linkages’ – Nov 5th 1630-1730 EEST, Urban Library room B: global launch of the report to UN Habitat, as the final output of the Peri-cene project, based on the partner cities, from Surabaya to Santiago
  • Net-zero city challenge – writing / capacity building workshop, Barcelona: 28-29th October:  with Universitat Internacional de Catalunya and Urban Resilience Research Network: (details shortly)
  • Food systems mapping workshop, 30th October: presentation for Public Health Wales, based on the systems approach to environmental policy project for Natural Resources Wales.
  • Resilience Forum: 26th June. 1300 (hybrid) –  with Prof. Jorge Inzulza of the University of Chile. With an interactive process of mapping ‘collective resilience intelligence’, we aim to generate future collaborations.  Details – Synergistics | Resilience 3.0
  • Circular Economy Ukraine & the ‘collective circular intelligence’:  workshop with the UN Industrial Development Organization, April 17th 2024 at the World Circular Economy Forum – https://wcef2024.com/ – presenting our Foresight report on Circular Economy Ukraine . 

 

2023

City-wise theme

Future-wise theme

  • Foresight 3.0 Indonesia August 4-10th 2023: this aims to contribute to the Ministry of National Development Planning (Bappenas). Locations are in Malang, Yogyakarta & Jakarta, with the Nalar Institute (https://nalarinstitute.com/) and Centre for Innovation Policy & Governance (https://cipg.or.id/en/).
  •  Foresight 3.0 Special Issue Launch – 13th April 2023.  Exploring the theme of ‘collective foresight intelligence’ this issue is nearly complete – launch expected in July 2024. See  foresight-3-0-special-issue/

 Climate-wise theme:

  • Eco-wars-3.0  – exploring the interface of climate tipping points & societal tipping points: Sept 29th 2023, 1600 BST:  open meeting pre-COP 28 for synthesis & ‘summary for policy-makers’.
  • ‘How to survive the 21st century’ – workshop 21st July 2023, Manchester: for the China-UK project on International Resilient Cities, we bring new methods of risk / resilience analysis, to look beyond the city limits at whole urban / peri / regional systems. The enquiry continues with a follow-on workshop in Changsha 21st Details – joe.ravetz@manchester.ac.uk

City-wise theme

  • Urban Futures Forum, 9th July 2025, hybrid. This program explores the dynamic cycle of change, the likely nexus of catastrophe, and the potential ‘connexus’ of transformation… here we look at the case of ‘Urban Shrinkage in China’ with guest speaker Prof. Kai Zhou, University of Hunan. 
  • Envision MCR:  advice to the next government: 20th June 2024:  Manchester Urban Institute LAB meeting (Local Advisory Board).  This is a rapid and fun brainstorm on pressing issues – from net-zero and housing, to mental health and extremism – to explore priorities and synergies between the many layers of our city-region. For registration & updates – Envision MCR
  • We launch the Call for the ‘Global Peri-urban’ Special Issue – August 4th 2023 – hybrid event at the Indonesia planning conference – icpeu.teknik.ub.ac.id/ – see the Frontiers page https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/57879/land-use-management-in-peri-urban-areas  Further details & registration on peri-urban launch
  • Local-wise – 30th March 2023:  launch of the innovative project ‘Urban participatory research & knowledge loops’ – with local demonstration exploring how useful knowledge is shared & co-produced;
  • Seminar:  towards a ‘collective urban intelligence’ in planning and environmental management:  February 8, 2023:  Cities are the hubs of transformations such as low carbon, social justice and economic resilience. Such changes are generally inter-connected (social, technical, economic, political, cultural): complex and dynamic (beyond simplistic solutions): and often controversial (multiple actors with conflicting agendas). Details on Future cities seminar – Joe Ravetz – 08-02-23 
  • World Planning Schools Congress:  31st Aug 2023: ‘Breakfast with monsters’:  ‘how to use the synergistic toolkit for resilience in territories and ecosystems’   https://wpsc-apsa2022.org/
  • Planning Research Conference 2022, 6th Sept 2023, University of Manchester UK: Round table on ‘where is the peri-urban’ https://psfuk.wordpress.com/prc-2022/
  • Workshop on Agroecology: IITM, Chennai, 26th August 2023: https://periurban.iitm.ac.in/Events.html

Eco-wise theme

  • ‘how to survive the 21st century’:  July 21st 2023.  – from the China-UK project on International resilient cities with UN Habitat, we bring new methods of risk / resilience analysis, to look beyond the city limits at whole urban / peri / rural systems.
  • ‘Symbio-polis 3.0’ – 8-12 May – interactive mapping & design for urban / peri / rural regeneration, building the ‘collective bio-regional intelligence’ with students, academic & stakeholders, in collaboration with the University of Florence
  • Eco-wars-3.0 – next session Sept 21st 2023 (tbc).   we explore the interactions of climate tipping points with human tipping points, and invite participants for co-production of a ‘collective climatic intelligence’ 
  • Climate change / all change on the new frontiers – May 6th 2022 – travelling the  ‘transformative adaptive pathways’ in the Peri-cene (‘peri-eco-urban anthropocene’).
  • Net-zero / Green new deal-3.0- beyond COP26 – thinking ahead in disruption & opportunity – Feb 4th 2022
  • Peri-cene 3.0 – 5th April 2022 – film screening & round table at CDMS Delhi
  • (Peri-cene.net/  Policy Lab launch): Jan 29th 2022;
  • ‘Net-zero / green new deal 3.0 – how can the circular economy transition be equal & inclusive? (with EC-JRC): March 26th 2021
  •  Bio-regional 3.0  : how to tame the global tiger? (with Univ Granada & UC San Diego): May 27th 2021
  • (Peri-cene.net/  Policy Lab workshops): project sessions, also open to interested parties; (June 3, 8, 10, 15);
  • Food 3.0 – how to link agro-ecology, super-food & urban livelihood? (with Camley St Land Trust, London): Sept 24th
  • Resilience 3.0 – how to cope with 2, 3 or 4 degrees: Oct 14th 2021
  •  
  • Beyond COP26 – tools for a ‘collective climatic intelligence’ and The NERC Digital Solutions Hub:  with Joe Ravetz, Manchester Urban Institute, and Prof Richard Kingston, Professor of Urban Planning.  10th Feb 2022: 1400. Register: https://bit.ly/3pJvmga 
  • From ‘here be dragons’ to a ‘collective spatial intelligence’ – prospects for mapping in a hyper connected world.  Keynote for the Indian National Cartographic Association 2021 Conference –  https://inca2020.org/conference  – March 10th 2021
  • International Conference on “Challenges of Disasters: Vulnerability, Adaptation and Resilience’: JNU, New Delhi:  Valedictory Address by Joe Ravetz, March 3rd 2021-   https://www.jmi.ac.in/bulletinboard/eventmodule/latest/detail/2461/26542 
  • 5th ICPEU (International Conference Planning in the Era of Uncertainty) “Rural-Urban Connectivity” – July 19 2021: keynote on: ‘The ‘anti-city-region’ – what it is and what to do?‘ http://johannes.lecture.ub.ac.id/2021/04/the-5th-international-conference-planning-in-the-era-of-uncertainty-the-5th-icpeu-2021/
  • Keynote at the project conference – Revisioning peri-urban futures –  Oct 2nd 2021
  • Keynote at the International Forum on Urban-Rural Linkages (from the UN Habitat URL program) – Oct 19th 2021 – Songyang, China & online
  • Interactive session  at the international Bioregional Planning Conference – Oct 20th – Firenze Italy & online 

Foresight-wise theme

2025

  • Foresight 3.0 interactive workshop & keynote at the Future4Europe  Vienna May15-16 – Future-Oriented Collective Intelligence (‘FOCI’) for complex interconnected challenges & opportunities
  • the Foresight 3.0 special issue published Feb 2025, with 11 excellent papers, will also be launched in Vienna

2024

2021-23

  • Foresight 3.0 Ukraine circular economy – working with UNIDO on the longer term prospects for Ukraine as a innovative and sustainable circular economy
  • Foresight 3.0 special issue – call for papers now open – with a platform including papers, perspectives, comments –  and the launch event April 13th. 

  • Foresight 3.0 Indonesia aims to contribute to the ongoing program for the Ministry of National Development Planning, with the Nalar Institute (https://nalarinstitute.com/) and Centre for Innovation Policy & Governance (https://cipg.or.id/en/).

  • Eco-wars-3.0 – next session September 29th 2023 : Climate systems catastrophe & tipping points – versus – human systems catastrophe & tipping points??  We explore ways to think ahead for a viable future with all on board…
  • Foresight 3.0 for climate change / all change: interactive workshop: July 10th 2022 at the International Society for Systems Sciences – https://www.isss.org/online-2022/. Wherever climate action changes the structures of power & ideology, we can expect power games, blame games, truth games, split incentives, or simple inertia & myopia…
  • Climate-wise – New-world-disorder/  – April 8th 2022 – in a world of disruption and conflict, how to manage our common climate?  can a next generation ‘Foresight 3.0’ enable the ‘collective climatic intelligence’? 
  • Climate-sight 3.0: how to explore a future of disruption & chaos with Foresight 3.0?: (following the COP26):  Feb 4th 2022
  • Strategic policy intelligence for cities & regions  – how to do next generation policy & planning? practical applications in public & corporate sectors (with HSE): April 14th 2021
  • Foresight from theory to practice: Training capacity building (for the HSE Masters program): April-June
  • Pandemonics 3.0:  tools for collective foresight intelligence, turning crisis into opportunity (hosted at ORS63), Sept 15th
  • Foresight – going viral? Oct 21st2021 – taking FS3.0 upwards & outwards (hosted at the XI Conference on Foresight and STI Policy, HSE Moscow). 
The University of Manchester