All rights reservedMäntysalo, RaineGrišakov, KristiSyrman, SimoSchmidt- Thomé, Kaisa2023-12-042023-12-042015978-80-01-05782-7https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/1035Book of proceedings: Annual AESOP Congress, Definite Space – Fuzzy Responsibility, Prague, 13-16th July, 2015The scenario work methodology has been well developed in the context of strategic business management. As the strategic approach has recently gained interest also in urban planning, there have been attempts to apply the scenario work methodology in this context, too. However, in order to do so, further development of the methodology is needed, especially regarding considerations on spatiality and the public sector perspective. In this paper, the scenario work methodology is studied with a focus on developing it into an instrument of strategic assessment in urban planning. The scenario work consists of first identifying and analyzing local potentialities, development trends and driving forces, and then generating imaginatively and synthetically normative and explorative scenarios for the future development of the planned area. It opens a window for longer term visionary possibilities, but also less desirable developments, commanding strategic awareness in assessing the impacts of the planning alternatives in preparation. In the paper, scenario work is developed into a strategic assessment tool and, further, a platform for adjusting different interests in urban planning, by examining it through a case of planning the Otaniemi area, in the city of Espoo neighbouring the capital city of Helsinki, Finland. The area hosts the main campus of Aalto University, which, together with the local government, has high ambitions of developing the area as a world class hub of research and innovation. However, this planning scheme has been challenged by the.EnglishopenAccessconferenceObject142-157