This conversation started with a simple LinkedIn post:
In the Gulf, outdoor temperature is critical to quality of life and our health. Yet it’s strange that most rating schemes reward simple numerics without the need to simulate how comfortable, or not, people will actually feel on the ground. We thought it’s time to change that and put our heads together to write a sample RFP focussing on urban thermal comfort performance.
I do not know Aleksandra Mucalov personally, but she is a landscape architect with experience in the Gulf, and she commented with a thoughtful caution. She reminded us that cities and landscapes have been created for centuries without simulations or models — and many of them still outperform our “data-driven” designs today. She pointed to the reality that urban comfort is shaped by many interlinked factors, and that models, while useful, can’t perfectly predict outcomes. Could data-driven design be overkill?
I don’t think so, but I do agree that tools are just tools. Some of the best public spaces I’ve walked through are 500 years old, built with craft, experience, and cultural memory rather than computer models (see above – it really isn’t rocket science). Aleksandra and I also agree that outdoor comfort will only grow more important, especially in the Gulf— and that codes and standards will always lag behind the realities we’re designing for.
This is where I think simulation tools are particularly important for the Gulf context.
Land development is always a reflection of society at a given time. The great urban environments of the world are often the product of strong social frameworks — governance, civic pride, and collective expectations about what a public place should be. Designers play a role, but we’re just one part of a much larger ecosystem. When informed expectations are embedded in codes, guidelines, or standards, quality becomes more consistent.
In the Gulf, that social, and indeed in all communities that socio-technical framework is evolving, however the pace of change here is extraordinary. Entire new cities are appearing in the space of a generation. Many people responsible for assessing public realm designs are highly capable, but few have deep experience in landscape architecture, let alone in nature-based solutions or urban forestry. In these situations, trust plays a huge role — trust that the designer will do the right thing. When so much is at stake (investment, resources, quality of life) we owe stakeholders greater transparency.
That’s precisely why I believe in using objective, science-backed tools. Not as a substitute for good design (though good tools help a lot), but as a way to give decision-makers and stakeholders— tangible validation that the proposed spaces will perform as promised. It’s a fairer approach, and the one I’d want if I were on the other side of the table.
The Gulf’s urban future will be built on both human judgement and data-driven design. The data doesn’t replace the judgement — but in a young, fast-moving development culture, it can hold designers more accountable and help deliver better outcomes more consistently.
