I'm looking for books like the title - a realistic but hopeful depiction of the future. Mostly interested in near future, building after the revolution type stuff, but I'd be open to more outright utopian sci-fi as long as the worldbuilding was interesting.
They are thoroughly good. Everything Iain Banks wrote is incredible. His sci-fi and standard fiction. My favourite author of all time and I miss him so much.
It's worth noting that most culture books focus on how elements within the culture can be quite morally dubious at times.
Edit: I'd just like to add there's a great album on spotify dedicated to the culture https://open.spotify.com/album/0ZOW2DLLnXOmr5pKXpImfx. By Terminal Chaos Builders