In a time of polycrisis, accelerating technological change, and shifting social values, the retail and placemaking industries face a fundamental challenge: how to stay commercially resilient while remaining deeply relevant to people’s lives? Elisa Cecilli, Strategic Foresight Senior Associate at Portland and Perkins&Will, argues that the answer does not lie in better predictions or shinier trend reports, but in listening more closely to people, communities, and the subtle signals shaping how we live, work, and gather. In conversation with ACROSS, she explains why foresight is about exploring possible futures – plural – and what that means for shopping centers, mixed-use developments, and the built environments that increasingly function as our shared civic spaces.
This article was published in ACROSS Issue 1|2026
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From Economics to Complexity
Elisa Cecilli’s professional path already hints at why her approach to foresight feels different. Trained as an economist, she quickly gravitated toward what she calls the “intangible” side of value creation: arts and culture, the knowledge economy, digital innovation, and ideas.
“My background is helpful to understand the way I work,” she explains. “I did a BA and MA in economics, but I focused immediately on things that are quite intangible, like arts and culture, the knowledge economy, and everything that is digital innovation and ideas.”
Her postgraduate education took place in the early 2000s, at a moment when the pace of technological change was accelerating rapidly. An experimental master’s program exposed her to neuroscience, anthropology, strategic management, and complexity theory. The unifying theme was not prediction, but sense-making.
“It was all about trying to make sense of complexity,” Cecilli says. “This making sense of change, of complexity, is really what stayed with me.”
That interdisciplinary lens has defined her career ever since. She has worked in trend analysis, behavioral insights, service design, and academia before focusing more explicitly on strategic foresight. Importantly, she never treated foresight as an isolated discipline.
“I’ve always worked with the now, the next, and the future,” she says. “I like to give my clients a good, clear picture of the now – and then what this now is telling us, what is emerging, and what the potential futures could be.”
Why Foresight is not Prediction
One of the most persistent misunderstandings Cecilli encounters is the idea that foresight is about forecasting a single, inevitable future. “When you talk about foresight, you always talk about futures with an ‘s’”, she stresses.
“We’re not really predicting. We explore different opportunities, different challenges, and different scenarios.”
The value for businesses – including retail developers, operators, and brands – lies in preparedness rather than certainty. Foresight helps organizations anticipate change, question assumptions, and stress-test strategies against multiple possible worlds.
“It’s not about saying, ‘This is going to happen,’” Cecilli explains. “It’s about saying, ‘These things are likely to happen. You should get ready. You should reconsider your services, your offer, the way you look at your customer.’”
For retail and placemaking, where investment cycles are long and assets are deeply embedded in communities, this mindset is particularly critical. The way families are structured, how people work, what they value, and how they spend time together is changing – and physical environments need to evolve accordingly.
Asking better Questions: The ‘Why’ behind Change
While many organizations are eager to know what is changing, Cecilli believes they often fail to dig deeply enough into why.
“What I would like to see is more focus on really deep-diving into what’s driving all of this change,” she says. “Very often projects are fast-paced, and we are synthesizing results and findings for clients. But the real value comes when you have time to explore the whys together.”
She advocates for more collaborative processes, where clients are actively involved in research, workshops, and observation rather than simply receiving polished presentations.
“If they’re not convinced by what you’re saying, they’re not going to implement it in the strategy,” she notes. “Quality time together in the same room, rather than a lot of presentation, really adds value.”
Another question she believes businesses must confront more directly is their role in society.
“We are living through multiple crises at the same time – a polycrisis,” Cecilli says. “People are looking for convenience in a different way. They’re looking for purpose, a sense of belonging.”
In this context, ESG for instance can no longer be treated as an add-on. “It’s not an option anymore,” she argues. “It needs to become embedded into the role of a business. Companies should ask themselves: how can I become a force for good?”
Retail as a Human System, not just a Commercial One
For Cecilli, retail and placemaking are fundamentally “people’s businesses.” Yet too often, human needs are considered too late in the design process.
“When we talk about commercial spaces, the brief is often about bringing in more shoppers or increasing spend,” she says. “But in all of these layers of decision-making, sometimes we forget about the people who are going to inhabit that space.”
That includes not only customers, but also staff. Cecilli is particularly passionate about staff wellbeing in shopping centers, airports, and other high-intensity environments. “We don’t talk enough about the staff,” she notes. “Where do they take a break? Where do they have lunch, or just chat with colleagues?”
The link to commercial performance is clear. “If you have a happy shop assistant, they’re more likely to offer good customer service. They’re more likely to be engaged and truly present.”
In a sector characterized by high turnover and increasing pressure on frontline workers, designing for staff well-being is not just ethical – it is strategic.
How Foresight Research Really Happens
Cecilli’s research process is deliberately human-centered and eclectic. It combines academic rigor with qualitative, creative exploration.
“I like talking to people,” she says simply. “At the beginning of a project, I talk to experts, but also to friends, to people who are just interested in the topic.”
She looks beyond reports and data sets to exhibitions, theater, film, and fashion. “Artists are often ahead of current thinking,” she explains. “It’s important to get inspiration that’s not only academic.”
Observation plays a crucial role. Cecilli spends time in retail environments watching how people move, where they pause, how they interact with space – and she often does this together with clients.
“We do innovation safaris,” she explains. “Rather than convincing the client that something is a trend, they see it first-hand.”
This shared experience builds conviction and accelerates decision-making. “You don’t need to convince them anymore,” she says. “They’ve observed it themselves.”
Interestingly, Cecilli has become more skeptical of traditional conferences and panels. “They’re very staged,” she says. “Everyone agrees with each other. There’s no intellectual tension.” For her, real insight emerges from friction, from different perspectives challenging one another – something she tries to recreate in workshops and collaborative research.
“Design is a Conversation”
One of the most powerful ideas Cecilli shares is that design should be understood as an ongoing conversation, not a finite act. This insight emerged from roundtables she organized with the Royal College of Art’s Spatial Futures program, which explores how changing behaviors will shape airports, shopping centers, and other environments.
“Listening can be done in a very superficial way, just to tick a box,” she says. “Or it can be done in a way that is truly meaningful.”
She points to participatory and immersive approaches – often using art or installations – that help people express feelings and needs more freely than surveys alone. Crucially, the conversation should not end when a project is delivered. “We shouldn’t be too precious about the design,” Cecilli argues. “Once people start using the space, we need to keep listening. How does it feel? Could we improve it?”
For retail destinations that must remain relevant over decades, this feedback loop is essential.
Innovation Safaris and Embodied Learning
Innovation safaris are one of the most tangible tools Cecilli and her team use with clients. Each safari is curated around a specific brief and combines commercial visits with cultural experiences and expert input.
“If the concept is about community, we might start the day with breakfast and an expert on loneliness or an anthropologist,” she explains. “Then we visit shopping centers, independent shops, exhibitions, entertainment, and wellbeing-led spaces.”
Workshops complement these experiences. They blend foresight tools like scenario planning with design thinking and customer journey mapping. Cecilli is careful not to let foresight become too abstract.
“You need to take clients on a journey,” she says. “You show how you get from the now to possible futures.”
One particularly effective method is embodied research. Participants are asked to experience a space through the eyes of a different persona.
“It helps break the constraints of your role,” Cecilli explains. “At the end of the day, this is a place for human beings. They all have needs and feelings.”
Shopping Centers as Mini Cities
When asked about the future role of shopping centers, Cecilli frames them as “mini cities” with enormous potential.
“They already recreate many elements of a town or village,” she says. “People know they can go there and find many things within a short time.”
Beyond retail and food, services are becoming increasingly important: healthcare, fitness, wellbeing, pet-related services, and leisure. Extreme weather conditions and climate resilience add another layer.
“In very hot cities, shopping centers offer something that is almost a luxury: a comfortable climate,” Cecilli notes. “They become places where people cool down, walk, and meet.”
She sees strong growth in experiences that bring people together offline: gaming arcades, board games, listening bars, vinyl shops. “These places have a superpower,” she says. “But proprietors need to think harder about the mix they offer and the role they want to play in people’s lives.”
Scenario thinking is essential here. What if fast fashion declines due to regulation or changing values? What if families are increasingly made up of friends and pets rather than parents and children? What if anti-tourism sentiment reshapes cities? “We don’t give solutions,” Cecilli explains.
“We frame critical questions that clients need to ask.”
Embracing Uncertainty Together
So, is the retail industry asking enough questions about the future?
“It’s a mix,” Cecilli says diplomatically. “Data and analytics are incredibly helpful to understand the now and the past. But futures are harder to quantify.”
She would like to see creative research valued alongside data-driven insights. More importantly, she wants businesses to ask more profound questions about people’s lives and well-being.
“If I don’t think about my neighborhood – about fragmentation, deprivation, social mobility – I’m missing something essential,” she says. And, speaking of retail destinations, she argues, “You’re a commercial entity, yes, but you’re also part of people’s daily lives.”
For Cecilli, foresight is not about having all the answers. It is about creating the conditions for better questions, shared understanding, and more humane decisions. In retail and placemaking, where physical spaces shape how we connect, belong, and thrive, that may be the most valuable insight of all.
About Elisa Cecilli
Elisa Cecilli is Strategic Foresight – Senior Associate at Portland and Perkins&Will. Trained as an economist, she has a multidisciplinary background spanning complexity studies, neuroscience, anthropology, behavioral insights, and service design. Elisa works with global brands, institutions, cities, and developers to explore possible futures and translate social and cultural change into strategic, human-centered insights for the built environment.
Elisa Cecilli also holds one of her workshops during the “Future of Place Innovation Day”, a new ACROSS offering through its ACROSS ACADEMY. The Future of Place Innovation Day is organized in cooperation with the London-based design and strategy consultancy Portland Design. For further information, click to download the information brochure.
