"Prefiguring Hopeful Futures"

Call for Papers-"Prefiguring Hopeful Futures"

Journal: Futures

Publisher: Elsevier

Submission Deadline: 31 Dec 2026

Key Requirements:

• Prefigurative practices in urban public spaces mandatory

• Abstract pre-approval via guest editors (30 Apr 2026)

• Practice-as-theory + more-than-human futures focus

Overview

Urban crises demand prefigurative hope through everyday spatial practices manifesting "concrete utopias" in gardens, commons, repair studios, micro-rewilding sites. Bridges futures scholarship + civic initiatives analyzing how routines/relations/ecologies compose hopeful futures NOW. First issue centering multispecies design + post-human governance as theory emerging from spatial practice.

Key Research Themes

Prefigurative Public Spaces:

• Community gardens + neighborhood assemblies

• Repair cafes + mutual aid infrastructures

More-Than-Human Futures:

• Multispecies habitats + green infrastructure

• Post-human design + ecological governance

Hope Cultivation Mechanisms:

• Everyday rituals sustaining collective hope

• Spatial practices inspiring external adoption

Institutional Emergence:

• Prefigurative norms → policy transformation

• Civic experiments scaling through governance

Submission Instructions

1. Submit ABSTRACT to o.druta@tue.nl by 30 Apr 2026
2. Internal review feedback by 15 Jul 2026
3. Final manuscripts to Editorial Manager post-internal review
4. Formats: Research papers + provocations ≤4000 words
5.International urban contexts** required for diversity
6. Follow Guide for Authors

Timeline: Abstracts: 30 Apr 2026 | Manuscripts: 15 Jun 2026 | Final: 31 Dec 2026

Guest Editor Team

• Oana Druta, TU Eindhoven, Netherlands (o.druta@tue.nl)

• Mohamed Saleh, University of Groningen, Netherlands

• Tihomir Viderman, BTU Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany

• Louwrens Botha, TU Eindhoven, Netherlands

Why This Issue Matters

70% global population urban by 2050 requires prefigurative spatial practices modeling justice/care/interdependence amid crises. Documents mundane hope infrastructures (gardens/repair/re-wilding) as theory-generating sites bridging scholarship → civic action. Essential for urban planners + futures researchers understanding how everyday practices accumulate into transformative norms + subjectivities + institutions.

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