The book aims to be an approximation to the phenomenon in which dystopia has been established as a hegemonic paradigm, counteracting it with some critical analyzes of past, present and future utopias. The idea is to map a territory that is less desolate than it might seem and, at the same time, outline elements that help us draw positive futures. It will be impossible to have a complete picture of the territory, but perhaps we will be able, seeing some examples, to intuit many others. It may seem like a strange idea, but everything is based on the fact that there is no real future that has not been previously imagined by someone. For better or for worse, someone has had to conceive of the existing future. Obviously, not in its entirety, we are only able to glimpse patches of the future, small plots of vast land. But in any case, as I say, without being imagined, futures cannot exist.
The purpose of the book is to encourage the design sector to think about the future and to do it in a purposeful way. We must work to draw those futures, without ignoring the enormous problems that lie ahead, nor the complexity of any scenario where humans live collectively and in contact with the environment, be it urban or rural. But, at the same time, and precisely because of the complexity of any context that we can imagine, we can find spaces, cracks, system failures, small exceptions that allow us to introduce non-apocalyptic visions. The formation and dissemination of these imaginaries is essential to try to be able to look forward with hope again. It is not only important for the future, but above all it is important for the present. If we believe that the future is a place worth working for, it will be much easier to organize to defend the present, to make the present a space that transforms realities.
To do this, in this book we have some expert voices in different fields that I think can provide multiple perspectives on various utopias/dystopias, some that have already passed, others that are on the table today with the intention of operating in the present, and others that pre-draw alternative futures to a dystopian future from which, if we stick to the cultural production of the last decades, it seems that we cannot escape.
Information:
Edited by World Design Capital Valencia 2022 with the help of the Diputación de València.
Texts: Jelena Prokopljević, Ramon Faura, Paloma G. Díaz, Makea tú vida, Holon, Institute for postnatural Studies, Elisabet Roselló, Daniele Porretta and Oscar Guayabero.
Editorial Correction: Anna Tetas
Design and layout: Creatias Estudio
http://www.guayabero.net/english/publications/books/book/neutopias-new-utopias-and-future-design.html