Policy Analyst Lincoln Institute of Land Policy Buffalo, NY
Exploratory scenario planning helps urban planners prepare for probable, desired, and uncertain futures while pursuing an overarching vision, rather than relying on a single, presumed future. The tool is highly useful in planning for uncertainty and uses a matrix of driving forces, or trends, to generate at least four possible future scenarios.
In the United States, housing supply is increasingly limited and costly, contributing to a housing crisis that has left millions of Americans homeless, rent burdened, displaced, or unable to afford living in certain areas. The Consortium for Scenario Planning at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy has selected four project proposals that will work through May 2024 to use workshops, games, toolkits, and reports to study or apply exploratory scenario planning’s use in examining local housing trends and generating strategies that improve housing affordability and accessibility. The four projects include community organizations, academics, and practitioners working with their community members in Western Massachusetts; Portland, Oregon; Pittsburg’s Triboro Ecodistrict in Pennsylvania; and San Diego, California.
