Utopianism in state–society interaction: reflections on the transdisciplinary intervention ‘Places of Hope’

Awareness is growing that current climate policy approaches for citizen and policymaker interaction are inadequate. ‘Public participation’ is often found to be hampered by narrow technical and functional terms under which engagement occurs. This paper explores an alternative, ‘utopian’ approach of state–society interaction, which seeks to engage both citizens and policymakers in an exploration of sustainable futures. We discuss a Dutch example of such an intervention: the exhibition ‘Places of Hope’, with which all three authors were closely involved. Places of Hope was designed to give participants ‘appetite for the future’. By iterating between utopian theory and our empirical case material, we explore three categories of ‘situations’ through which the utopian repertoire engaged the audience and mobilized alternative ways of futuring: (1) Reconnecting with the future as a collective object of care, (2) Experiencing the future as a space of possibility, (3) Sensing the emotive power and distinct temporalities of nature. We discuss how these dimensions illuminate both the promises and risks of utopian approaches to state–society interactions. The case also reveals that utopian experimentalism can surface and help navigate the contestations that are inherent to the politics of sustainable futures.