Tehran Playable: Leveraging Synthetic Urbanism and Gamified Co-Creation for adaptive city planning

Tehran is grappling with a host of unique urbanization challenges that require innovative spatial planning practices that transcend conventional top-down spatial planning. This Short Communication presents a conceptual proposal for a novel synthesis: combining Gamified Co-creation with the principles of Synthetic Urbanism to transform Tehran into a playable co-creation space. While digital twin solutions and citizen-driven spatial planning ideas have both evolved independently, their integration as a pragmatic tool for stakeholder engagement through high-fidelity synthetic models is novel. By combining digital twin models and VR and AR models infused with game design principles, this suggested solution engages citizens, spatial planners, and political leaders alike for the collaborative design of spatial solutions for Tehran. The significance of this synthesis, according to this research, is that it fills a pressing gap in the current state of spatial planning for complex cities such as Tehran.