As AI enters planning and design, the risk is not that cities become too digital, but that they become too abstract. Long before urban data became fashionable, Gehl built its practice on observing and counting what people actually do in public space. 

In this session, Liselott Stenfeldt brings that human-scale tradition into the AI age: how can public-life data, behavioural insight and future scenarios enrich simulations, digital twins and planning models? Gehl explores how technology can help planners, developers and decision-makers move from hindsight to foresight – and act earlier, faster and with greater awareness of the human impact. 

The challenge is not simply to plan faster, but to make sure the models understand what makes cities worth living in.