City Futures Lab

Anticipating Tomorrow, Building Today

The City Futures Lab (CFL) of the Asian School of Governance is a regional hub for urban innovation and foresight. We work with cities and communities across Asia to accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by equipping leaders with tools for futures thinking, adaptive governance, and co-creation.

Asia is home to the fastest-growing cities in the world, where urban transformation defines the trajectory of our century. From coastal megacities facing rising seas to small towns navigating migration, climate shocks, and digital transitions, Asian cities are on the frontlines of global change. The City Futures Lab helps them anticipate risks, design inclusive futures, and share scalable solutions.

What We Do

• Fellowships & Learning Programs
  We empower students, city staff, and community leaders across Asia with Futures Thinking, Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation (PDIA), Adaptive Leadership, and Bridging Leadership—so they can navigate complexity and craft resilient pathways forward.
  
  

• Civic Engagement & Climate Action
  We run programs on Civic Engagement & Participatory Governance and Climate Action, embedding community voices and foresight practices into city strategies, ensuring future-ready, inclusive transitions.
  
  

• Co-Creation with City Governments
  Partner cities mobilize fellows from their municipal staff and networks to join co-creation teams—anchoring experimentation in governance realities while linking actions to long-term Asian urban futures.

Why Cities, Why Now?

• By 2050, two-thirds of Asia’s population will live in cities.

• Climate vulnerability, inequality, and digital disruption converge most sharply in urban Asia.

• Opportunities for innovation—from green infrastructure to civic tech—are also greatest in Asia’s cities.

This is where the SDGs will be won or lost. City Futures Lab enables Asian cities to become laboratories of inclusive, sustainable, and future-ready governance.

Our Approach

• Futures Thinking & Foresight – Scenario planning, horizon scanning, and backcasting to anticipate multiple possible Asian futures.

• Systems Thinking – Mapping interconnections across governance, economy, health, environment, and society.

• Experimentation – Low-cost pilots that can adapt and scale across contexts.

• Collaboration – Linking universities, local governments, civil society, and private sector across Asia.

• Scalable Learning – Turning local lessons into regional knowledge commons for shared progress.

Be Part of the City Futures Lab

Whether you are a student seeking to shape tomorrow’s cities, a municipal leader navigating rapid change, or a partner organization working across Asia, the City Futures Lab is your platform to learn, connect, and co-create.

Join us in shaping Asia’s future-ready, resilient, and inclusive cities.