Pathways to Multispecies Cities: Backcasting from Solarpunk Stories

Abstract: Cities are increasingly important for the well-being of humans, other species, and the whole biosphere. Recently, there has been growing awareness of cities being inhabited by multiple species whose needs are entangled. In this thesis, a set of positive scenarios and pathways towards multispecies cities were created with the aim to evoke the reader’s imagination, stepping away from quantitative and linear methods of scenario building on the one hand and negative imaginaries of environmental and social destruction on the other hand. Using Solarpunk stories as input to a backcasting process that combined the theories of the Nature Futures Framework, climate resilient development, and multispecies sustainability, the thesis suggested new imaginaries of how the future of cities might look through a multispecies lens. Examples include multispecies climate adaptation, animal social security, and interspecies relationships. An interactive story communicates the results of the thesis with the potential to engage a wider audience beyond academia and challenge the readers’ current beliefs about the future of cities. The story can be played here: https://reettarossi.itch.io/multispecies-cities. The thesis contributes to the pursuit of developing transformative representations of the future that inspire action and help people make better decisions today. Since everybody has their own ideas of what is a desirable city, there is a need to continue developing a plurality of desirable images of urban futures.