This fall, the Association of Professional Futurists will meet in Pittsburgh, PA for the 2018 APF gathering with the theme of Cities of the Future. Unrelated, but timely, in the fall of 2017, Dr. Hines served as the advisor on a student project by Mina McBride that examined the feasibility of developing a Futures City Index (FCI). The purpose of the FCI is to allow futurists and other interested parties determine cities that tend to have a futures-oriented mindset. Futurists might use the Index to select the best places to live or locate a practice. While, the Index is still in development, the following seven cities came up as locations to watch during initial research. [For consistency, this list has been limited to cities in North America]

  1. Detroit, MI

Residents have co-created a fifty-year vision organized by Detroit Future City and investment and corporations seems to be taking notice.

  1. Memphis, TN

A crisis of depopulation has been the call for Memphis residents to start taking the future of their city seriously. Mayor Strickland appears to be dedicated to the cause. Moody’s says the outlook of the city is stable.

  1. Belmont, AZ

Bill Gates has purchased nearly 25,000 acres of land here with the dream of erecting a smart city. Will his efforts succeed?

  1. San Jose, CA

Housing prices seem to be driving the brains out of the Silicon Valley mecca, will the brain drain continue or will tech masterminds continue to be drawn to this land in the sun despite the high cost of living?

  1. Las Vegas, NV

Zappos was the first to commit to building Las Vegas’s downtown to become a place where people want to live, work, and play and the city seems to be backing his goal with cooperative action.

  1. Pittsburgh, PA

Futurists attending the APF gathering this fall will have the opportunity to witness the Pittsburgh transformation as it attempts to go from steel to tech.

  1. Chattanooga, TN

In typical small town fashion, Chattanooga has been quietly building itself into a formidable location for those interested in innovation without the big-city fuss. It has hooked up every residence to a super-fast 10 gigabit speed network.
Bonus: Burlington, VT
Have a special interest in sustainability? Burlington, VT is the place to watch and has been recognized by the UN as a model.
Image: PhotosbyMahin