“Maribor is the Future”

Abstract

The article explores futures in the deindustrialized city of Maribor in relation to the right to the city and participatory practices. The future is considered from the present perspective; how it informs and inspires people to act. The focus is on the Initiative for Citywide Assembly, self-organized districts, participatory budgeting, and collaboration between cultural producers and NGOs. The article treats these participatory practices as social processes and learning sites in which the future is not just imagined or aspired to but rather lived and putinto practice.