Science fiction has been my literary genre of choice since childhood. The idea of taking the world as we know it and adding in a new element then exploring the implications has always sparked my interest and imagination. Sometimes science fiction involves completely new worlds, but there is still the exploration of what is possible within a given framework. Speculative Futures is the nonfiction version. Johanna Hoffman explores what is possible in urban design using the tools of speculative futures to collaboratively imagine and cocreate better spaces.

Although it is a slim book, I highlighted 50+ passages. That is one every three pages! Speculative Futures is full of both concrete ideas and food for the imagination. It also very honestly reckons with its own limitations. This is not a cure-all. It is another tool in a situation where we are going to need all the tools at our disposal to find practical and creative solutions. The book is a good balance of theory and real-world examples. It is not the most riveting writing but the content kept me glued to the page.

Thank you to the author, Johanna Hoffman, the publisher, North Atlantic Books, and NetGalley for the ARC of Speculative Futures. If you are interested in urban planning, climate change solutions, building resilience in individuals and communities - look for this book coming out in October 2022.

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Interesting stuff. This contains accessible info and ideas that are at times compelling. Anyone with an interest in our (physical) future, may find that this stretches their mind a little and may even be hopeful.

I really appreciate the free ARC for review!!

I think this is one of the best non-fiction books I’ve read this year. Even though it talks about topics not everyone may be familiar with like architecture, Catastrophisation of the future, speculative development plans with long term effects, the book is written in simple language, making it more easy and accessible for wider audience. Moreover, while being short( the book is maybe 150 pages long without references and notes), the author doesn’t spend too much time on any specific topic but goes straight to the point, which makes this book more gripping and just less boring. Johanna Hoffman was able to keep me interested in what she was talking about throughout the whole book, even though I have an attention span of a person addicted to TikTok😂

I believe this is a very valuable read, also for tourism management students like me( making decisions without the local people’s input leads to bad results- talked about in Speculative futures) and for that reason I will be trying to get my uni to buy this book once it’s out.

Thank you NetGalley, Johanna Hoffman and North Atlantic Books for allowing me to read this arc.