Could applied science fiction shape a Fitzrovia future?

What will our neighbourhood be like in 30 years’ time? How can we help shape a community fit for the next generation of Fitzrovians? These are the questions a new initiative seeks to answer.

“Fitzrovia Futures is a locally run project to facilitate a discussion between the local community and subject specialists in areas that will affect the possible futures for Fitzrovia and we really want to make sure we include a diverse range of perspectives,” says science fiction writer Stephen Oram who is organising the project.

“We are looking for people from the community, such as residents, business owners, local workers, students and young people, to contribute to a half-day workshop,” he says.

Through workshops and storytelling, the project will explore what’s possible, plausible and what’s preferable for Fitzrovia in the 2050s.

The project hopes to explore some practical examples of aspects of a future Fitzrovia, such as threats and opportunities from changes to the retail landscape on Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road that could see these places become centres of entertainment.

Fitzrovia is undergoing an increasing student population and a change from permanent self-contained homes to an increasing number of short-stay, holiday lets.

Is it possible that Fitzrovia will return to being a “village in central London” and how might future technology help that to happen? Or will it lose more of its permanent population, like neighbouring Soho is currently experiencing?

Is there an opportunity for producing locally grown food or locally produced energy? How will climate change affect city centre living and the health of the community?

These fictional futures will then be used in public events to engage the wider community in the discussion.

“The reasoning behind this project is that, often community involvement in future related decisions are around immediate and specific issues,” says Oram.

“By using applied science fiction as a tool in participatory foresight, this project will look at a 30-year horizon through narratives, enabling those who take part to think in everyday terms about what and how they want their local area to become in the future, grounded in the plausibility that the subject specialists bring to the process,” he says.

The workshop which will be held at Fitzrovia Community Centre in late April and will involve each of the community participants describing in five minutes or less what’s important to them about the area and its future.

Following this the subject specialists will each talk for five minutes on their area of specialism and what that might look like in the 2050s.

“We are not expecting predictions, but a few possibilities to spark the imagination,” says Oram.

In the second half of the workshop there will be a semi-structured discussion amongst the 15 attendees about the 2050s, based on what’s been said and heard in the first half.

Following the workshop, the subject specialists will provide “feasibility” feedback on the ideas that will be incorporated into two short (5-minute) near-future stories written by the resident authors — Stephen Oram and Penny Walker.

There will then be a public event as part of the Fitzrovia Fete in August, where the stories will be read, with audience feedback encouraged, and more discussion to follow.

So far, the project involves the Fitzrovia Community Centre, academics from local universities, business people, and professional writers.

“Ideally, this project alongside a previous project in Finsbury Park will provide a template and a proof of concept for similar projects around the UK, all with their own local flavour but within the broad parameters devised through the course of this project. Once established, this methodology can be rolled out in any area of any country,” says Oram.

Fitzrovia Futures workshop will be held from 11:45am to 4:45pm on Tuesday 29 April at the Fitzrovia Community Centre. Anyone interested in taking part in the project should contact Stephen Oram at info@nudgethefuture.net no later than 8 April 2025. The Fitzrovia Fete takes place on Sunday 10 August 2025.

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