ABSTRACT
All research on sustainable development has by implication to work with
notions of the future. Future orientation is integral to concepts of sustainability
as indicated in what continues to be the most well-known definition of
sustainable development:
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of
the presentwithout compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs. (WCED, 1987, p43)
However, while research regarding sustainable development is founded on
understanding how current conditions may change and in understanding the
processes that create future conditions, systematic studies of the future
demonstrate complex interactions that affect future development. At the very
least, it is clear that simple extrapolations are not likely to provide accurate
guides to what we might expect, and sustainable development research can be
enriched by some reference to the concepts, approaches, methodologies and
methods of formalized futures studies (FS). This chapter offers an introductory
discussion to some of the issues involved with systematic research in FS, and
relates this discussion to research on sustainable development.
