Conference Agenda

This paper chronicles how we used a Theory of Change visual map to support pluriversal perspectives in urban regeneration projects. The map was tested in four cities under regeneration as part of the T-Factor project. Unlike most Theory of Change maps, it supported city stakeholders in three main aspects: 1) planning interventions to operate within multiple time horizons, 2) considering multiple actors, both human and non-human, in the decision-making process, and 3) reflecting on planned interventions to ensure a long-term impact beyond project scope. In addition, the Theory of Change map led towards a new approach for portfolio-based interventions in urban regeneration projects, emphasising long-term thinking and prioritising care activities over tangible hard ends. The map supplements the classic evaluation-based Theory of Change model, expanding the logic of how a polyphonic change process in the urban realm could occur through collaborative design practice.

In July 2023, the author carried out a design fiction workshop over a 4-day span in Vovousa, a village of 132 inhabitants by the banks of the wild river Aoos/Vjosa, in the heart of the Pindus range, in the area of Epirus, Greece. In a location with a history of tensions regarding the creation of hydroelectric dams, the workshop participants were invited as a group to consider and discuss different scenarios for the future of the settlement, set in the year 2048. As a group, they publicly presented artefacts from one selected future with the discussions following indicating that the polyphony generated by the proposals ought to be a given in any community inquiring their preferred future. Such investigations on futures ought to be a constant and continuous endeavor, since, as this short workshop illustrates, even the best outcome today is no panacea for living a preferable future tomorrow.

Speculative design stretches the boundaries of future plausibility, enabling creators to engage audiences by evoking empathy and provoking debate. Designers often use satire and humor, techniques that comedians have employed for centuries, to engage the public. We examined the popular YouTube comedy series '2032/2033 Futures', which depicts near futures, to understand how comedy can broaden future plausibility and challenge viewers to think critically about preferred futures. To this end, we conducted semi-structured interviews with the creators to contextualize their comedic techniques, such as humor, satire, irony, and wit, within future-oriented narratives and prototypes. Our findings illustrate how comedy can revitalize speculation as an experimental approach: a) to the notion that boundaries of future plausibility are shaped by collective empathy and can expand through speculation, b) to the unearthed significance of notions once considered preposterous, and c) to crafting scenarios that break from linear time, showcasing a polyphonic temporal and spatial narrative.

Inspired by the feeling-thinking-making of the tšombiach, a traditional belt or sash woven by the Kamëntŝa people (authors 2023) this paper explores the potential of a collection of wearable speculations to entangle collectively in matters of care (Puig de la Bella Casa 2017) relating to water in a territory. Through five speculative, hand-woven garments we (2 Kamëntŝa and 2 sn̈ená/foreign women) open dialogues on how wrapping/involving, in a tšombiach logic, can be a practice of care: of the body and of the territory. The pieces are speculative in the sense that they are not actual garments, nor are they tšombiachs, instead they are pieces woven to feel-think-make with. Through them we invite each other, and other people, to physically engage with situated stories of bejay -water- our sister; to wear these pieces as a call to care, but also to be involved and entangled in the stories.

In an increasingly uncertain future context, participatory speculative design be-come a future probe for exploring complex socio-technical issues and a diverse world. Compared to speculative design, the focus of participatory speculative de-sign shifts from artifacts to process, empowering the public through multi-stakeholder participation. Building upon future prototypes and scenarios, partic-ipants and designers co-create potential pluralistic futures, and democratize im-agination. This paper, based on a literature review of recent research in this field, outlines three practical pathways of participatory speculative design, which are characterized as "technical speculation," "social speculation," and "integrated speculation," along with seven participatory methods that can be used in the de-sign process. Finally, the study proposed a framework for participatory specula-tive design flow, delineating four phases to guide the practice of participatory speculative design.