Cities are facing growing uncertainties on how public spaces should be designed, particularly because traditional urban planning and stakeholder engagement methods are no longer sufficient in addressing the complex needs of an increasingly diverse citizenry. This study explores a new public engagement method called Foresight Walks, which aims at realizing the considerations of complex multi-stakeholder groups through immersive, audio walking tours that take participants through alternative futures of public spaces. Foresight Walks integrate and address gaps within the practices of walking, experiential foresight, and speculative design. The method was prototyped in a case study on the futures of suburban shopping malls. Insights were gathered on how walking through physical environments, while listening to a story from the future can help create the perceptual bridge for experiential foresight practices to better encourage visioning and critique of the futures of public spaces. Learnings gathered bring value to the realms of stakeholder engagement, foresight practice, and design research.

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