Adaptation planning in France: Inputs from narratives of change in support of a community-led foresight process

Abstract

In France, integrating adaptation to climate change into planning policies is a prerogative that has recently been delegated to municipalities. There are also various injunctions to engage the local population in this decision-making process. How can municipalities co-construct an adaptive future with their citizens? This article critically describes a community-led foresight process, based on the mapping, analysis and interpretation of narratives of change. Based on empirical results, we explore and discuss the role past, present and future narratives may play in the process of outlining incremental scenarios and how these might enable the identification of pathways and hinge points. The role of design in supporting the process by proposing an innovative foresight workshop is also discussed. We then highlight how these narratives stimulated reflections through an art, design and science foresight experiment.