1000 Friends of Oregon & IFTF Have Teamed Up to Explore the Shifting Landscapes of Change to Empower the People of Oregon to Steer Toward A Better Tomorrow.
The future is as uncertain as it's ever been, and there are few maps to guide us. This is why IFTF is excited to release a new film short previewing four thought-provoking alternative visions of the future of land use in Oregon. Created in collaboration with 1000 Friends of Oregon, a nonprofit focused on enhancing quality of life–from building livable urban and rural communities to protecting family farms & forests and conserving natural areas. This short is a compilation of four alternative visions using IFTF's foresight methods to explore how land use policies could evolve and shape Oregon communities over the next decade.
“It’s not enough to hope, we need to plan.” said Sam Diaz, Executive Director of 1000 Friends of Oregon. “By considering 4 plausible alternative futures and asking how to prepare for each of them, we can use foresight to ensure that Oregon remains a place where both people and ecosystems can thrive, despite increasing pressures on our land and communities.”
This project was a collaborative effort involving policy advocates, community members, and partners in Oregon with futurists and creatives at IFTF. It presents a set of video scenarios designed to catalyze strategic conversations that address difficult and overlapping challenges such as climate-driven migration, environmental instability, affordable housing, and rural economic development.
The Challenges of Today: Oregon at a Crossroads
For decades, Oregon has been a national leader in land use planning, limiting urban sprawl and protecting farmlands, forests, and open spaces. However, today’s realities are straining the system. Increasing housing demand, institutional mistrust, and climate impacts such as wildfires and droughts, are testing the resilience of Oregon’s communities and challenging existing policies.
Four Alternative Futures: Building Resilience through Foresight
The videos explore four possible futures for 2035:
- Insatiable: A future driven by the desire for continued economic growth, even at the expense of equality and sustainability.
- Scratch: A future ravaged by climate, economic disparities, and breakdown of core systems.
- Pruning: A future driven by difficult choices and the acceptance of fewer individual freedoms for the benefit of all.
- Liminal: A future accelerated by technological breakthroughs and a re-definition of reality.
None of these futures will come to pass exactly as they are depicted. None of them are predictions or preferences. However, the seeds of all of these possibilities and more exist in the present. Alternative futures help us see the contours of diverse trajectories of change, and offer the chance to think critically about the consequences of our choices today.
Land use decisions are a powerful lever for shaping the future. These research-driven scenarios demonstrate how foresight tools can help communities imagine and design a more equitable and sustainable future—one that works for both people and the environment.Rachel Hatch, Chief Operating Officer, IFTF
###
About the Institute for the Future
Institute for the Future is the world’s leading futures organization. For over 55 years, businesses, governments, and social impact organizations have depended upon IFTF global forecasts, custom research, foresight education and training to navigate complex change and develop future-ready strategies. IFTF methodologies and toolsets yield views of transformative possibilities across all sectors that together support a more equitable and sustainable future. Institute for the Future is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California.
About 1000 Friends of Oregon
1000 Friends of Oregon works with Oregonians to enhance our shared quality of life by building livable urban and rural communities, protecting family farms and forests, and conserving natural areas. Since 1974, 1000 Friends has worked to protect and improve Oregon’s unique, statewide land use planning program through education, policy advocacy, coalition building, and strategic litigation. 1000 Friends of Oregon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Portland, Oregon.