Strengthening our focus on urban futures

Today, we vacate our old offices to join BLOXHUB, the Nordic Hub for sustainable urbanisation. We are excited to become part of an ecosystem of companies, organisations, research institutions and public bodies dedicated to preparing the cities of the present for the needs of the future. The move is part of our overall journey to strengthen our focus on urban development and future cities, and it coincides with the launch of our URBAN FUTURES initiative dedicated to supporting the transformation of our cities and societies.

Associated Partner Nikolaj Sveistrup will be leading the URBAN FUTURE initiative. Nikolaj emphasises that the cities of the future will be radically different from those of today:

"Our ambition with URBAN FUTURES is to contribute to the transformation facing our societies and cities. We see the push to reduce of greenhouse emissions, changing demographics, less physical retail, new ways of working, and other trends impacting cities to a great extent. To kick off the initiative, our focus will be on specific and concrete development projects that shape daily life at a local level. In time, URBAN FUTURES aims to also take part in international projects as thought leaders, as we believe accelerating urbanisation is one of the key megatrends shaping societies globally in the future."

Daria (Dasha) Krivonos, CEO, sees the move to BLOXHUB and the establishment of URBAN FUTURES as an important part of the Institute's ambition to strenghten of its focus on cities and urban life in the future:

"The Institute is excited to join BLOXHUB, a move which marks the launch of the URBAN FUTURES initiative. As a nonprofit with 50 years of experience working with futures studies, we aim to use our deep knowledge of how megatrends affect urban development to ensure that they support our ability to live the life we want - without putting too much of a strain on our health, climate, and local environments."

BLOXHUB considers the Insititute moving in a boon to the hub's ecosystem:

"We are very happy to welcome the Institute to BLOXHUB and to add their expertise to the broad collaborations around the future of urban development and construction taking place in the hub. All the construction and urban development projects happening now shape the future, so it is important to include megatrends ", says Torben Klitgaard, CEO, BLOXHUB.