The user experiences of the futures wheel method advancing futures thinking in the field of built environment

There is a clear need to foresee future development and identify the possible future impacts of different elements to ensure conscious and sustainable decision making in the field of built environment. However, the level of awareness and knowhow of potential methods to assist in this task is still low among market actors as real estate education has been unable to respond to the situation. There is a growing need for versatility in the curriculums while trained experts equipped with broad knowhow are called after by the industry. The capability of futures thinking can be seen as an essential part of this sought-after skill set. This paper aims to study the user experiences of the futures wheel method known from futures studies to investigate its suitability. This was done by involving master’s level students and experts working in the real estate field through joint workshops and individual essays written by the participants. The results show that the futures wheel method could enhance future oriented thinking and decision-making. The method bears great potential to be used more widely than is has until now and could be included in the curriculums at different education levels.