Between February 2009 and December 2010, we spoke to hundreds of people about the future. A few dozen of these people were nice enough to make predictions about the future.

Some of these predictions took the form of elaborate short stories, or intricate drawings or maps.

Click on their names to see what these participants submitted to the project. (Note: to see these predictions in context, click on "Timeline & findings", above.)

By 2050, Union Square will have become the hot new place to live in the Metro Boston Area. The rehabilitation/renovations of crack houses and abandoned churches and retail spaces will bring in the wealthy. Artists and students will be forced out into Davis and Ball Squares. Meanwhile former small business owners will work together and create high end versions of their bakeries, produce markets, meat shops, home goods, and jewelry and clothing stores. The Ghetto Star Market will be remodeled to look like a futuristic European market, and require some sort of membership to get decent prices. An Ikea will move in to the space Target once held. The Target will move underground at Porter Square. The Somerville Hospital will become the home of a state-of-the-art addiction rehabilitation program. Celebrities from all over the world will seek help at its nearby facilities at Highland and Benton. Bullfrog Power will expand beyond Canada and become the electricity company of choice for the North East and West Coast. It will hold the monopoly in Union Square. A significant tax rebate will be given to people who retrofit their cars to accept Jatropha biodiesel. This will quickly become the only fuel available in Somerville, although most people won't use personal cars anymore. The new, highly efficient, MBTA bus and (now) limousine service will run on biodiesel purchased in Somerville. The park at Summer and Bow streets will be expanded to become a great recreation center with a public pool, community gardens and playground. On the downside of these changes, the Mafia and Freemasons will have an unspoken influence (sometimes collaborative, sometimes competitive) on the neighborhood. They will never be prosecuted properly for drug and escort service-related activity. However they will be commended for their local and international charitable contributions.

(source: Ayanna B.)