The urbanized world is growing rapidly in size, diversity and complexity. Politicians, planners and alike aim to make cities smarter or more sustainable. Amidst the urgency of problems and grand promises of technology it’s easy to forget the obvious: Urban futures cannot thrive without an enabling environment for citizen engagement. The vast majority of urban strategies for citizen engagement are confined to instrumental forms of participation: Politicians or planners are in the drivers-seat. But citizens shape their cities every day, with aspirations, movements, actions and interactions. They self-organize and mobilize, express themselves through media, arts and culture. Where ‘business as usual’ is no longer an option to address social and environmental problems, citizens generate new impulses, through critique and alternatives. Urban Future Bar is an open-process format for citizen engagement. It happens in the heart of urban infrastructures and networks.