“Is liveability utopian?” Leading design critic and curator Mimi Zeiger opens her keynote with this question, inviting us to reconsider the dreams and realities that shape Los Angeles. Drawing from historical experiments like early 20th-century communal societies and contemporary cultural shifts like the avocado toast phenomenon, Zeiger pairs imagined utopias with the city’s real challenges across infrastructure, culture, housing and health.

She explores the revival of the LA River as a green lifeline, the cultural transformation of the arts district, and the fierce debates over housing density. Through these examples, Zeiger reveals how utopian ideals help clarify the tensions of aspiration, inequality and inclusion in city life. Can the utopias of yesterday offer a blueprint for the cities of tomorrow—or are they simply stories we tell ourselves?