Emerging technologies have so thoroughly infused the fabric of our cities that to even think about ‘urban design’ now requires a fresh understanding of how these new processes work, and in what ways they might be challenging our shared cultural, economic and political fabric. From 2017 to 2019, The New Normal “Speculative Urbanism” think tank at Strelka Institute reflected on this new paradigm to catch up to this new context set in motion by the age of global computation, data analytics and algorithmic governance.

Co-published by Strelka Press and Park Books, The New Normal publication encompasses the breadth, diversity, and intensity of activity that has taken place throughout the three-year project. It situates the framework and urgency of the research within contemporary Russia—perched as it is, linking European and Asian passages, Pacific and Baltic flows, between traditional and hypermodern paths—while presenting the program itself as an innovative, experimental, and interdisciplinary model of postgraduate education that is both sensitive and responsive to today’s geopolitical and historical context.