The Future City Index: An Application of Computerized Text-Based Analysis to the Measurement of Community-Level Futures-Orientation

Most of the data created and made available by today’s communication platforms are generated organically without regard to potential insights that could be gained by careful study making such platforms a valuable source of data that may prove to have more validity than self-reports. Word-frequency computerized text-based analysis has been employed to discover the characteristics, traits, and sentiments of populations. The Future City Index (FCI) is an application of this methodology that has implications and relevance for strategic foresight practitioners, policymakers, industry, and urban planners. Currently in development, the FCI ranks cities according to the frequency of meaningful futures-oriented language in daily word use within a determined geographic location.

Contemporary Climate Change Art as the Abstract Machine: Ethico-Aesthetics and Futures Orientation

The fusion of visual art and climate science to produce something new to mediate the urgency of the climate change issue is explored in relation to Simon O’Sullivan’s conception of contemporary art invoking Deleuze and Guattari’s ethico-aesthetics and futures orientation. The question considered is: Can and does climate change art crystallize a different subjectivity within viewers? Conclusions are that the visual art considered in this article does have the prospect of connecting viewers with some realization of future climate change implications.