Newsletter #59

territorial future thoughts by spatialforesight

Geopolitical fragmentation, democratic strain and systemic risks are playing out unevenly across territories. In May, our Spatial Foresight blog series explored how territorial foresight can help us to understand these spatial realities and why future-oriented governance needs to be more place-sensitive.

Foresight as a space of possibilities: why Europe needs territorial futures. Much of today's debate about Europe's future is framed in terms of crisis management, focusing on geopolitical tensions, climate risks, technological disruption and economic uncertainty. These are necessary discussions, but they often focus more on avoiding collapse than on imagining alternatives. Europe needs a stronger approach to thinking about territorial futures, shaping desirable pathways for change. (Available to members only Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

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Uneven territorial pathways of democratic erosion. Democratic erosion does not occur uniformly. In the same country, some regions may sustain institutional trust and civic participation, while others may drift towards illiberal practices and democratic fatigue. The result is an increasingly uneven geography of democratic resilience. Are we paying enough attention to democracy as a place-based condition? Should we start treating democratic capacity as a place-based development factor? (Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

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When global risks become territorial in an age of competition. The impacts of global risks rarely remain global. Geoeconomic confrontation, fragmented supply chains, climate pressures, infrastructure vulnerabilities, etc. materialise unevenly across territories. Some regions become strategically important hubs, while others accumulate overlapping vulnerabilities without sufficient adaptive capacity. We need to understand these differentiated territorial impacts in order to anticipate systemic risks and strengthen European resilience. (Read (Öffnet in neuem Fenster))

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In the pipeline

We will continue to reflect on the future of Europe – its spaces, places and people – through a territorial foresight lens. Our focus remains on how governance frameworks can better reflect spatial diversity while enabling structural change.