DAY 2 - FRIDAY OCTOBER 23rd 2026

F1 - Why do we draw? Examining the sketch effect

A drawing is never neutral. It's an argument, made visible.

This panel explores how drawing and visualization remain relevant to how we might imagine, debate, and shape cities together. Long before a policy becomes a place, someone has to draw it: to move it from aspiration to option, from option to something a room full of stakeholders can actually argue about and choose. Every image carries assumptions: about who belongs, what's possible, what's been left out of frame. AI and digital tools are making that visualization faster, sharper, and more polished than ever. Is the urban designer empowered or undermined by this shift? As the tools accelerate, how does the role evolve?

Join our panelists as we draw on new ideas, and on paper, in this creative and interactive session.