00:02It's about the neighbourhoods and it's about your life.
00:05So people do not choose buildings or infrastructure.
00:09They choose a place and a future for themselves and for their families.
00:17An entire neighbourhood small enough to fit on a table.
00:20Here at Cityscape Qatar in Doha, developers are showing what they plan to build next
00:25and what life there could look like.
00:28The Homes on Show range from studio flats for first-time buyers
00:32to villas with five or six bedrooms.
00:36We have got 70 exhibitors from more than 15 countries
00:39and 400 projects showcased this year.
00:42So it's really offering a big variety, a lot of investment opportunities,
00:46new communities you're going to find out in the future,
00:48where to live, where the new school's going, where the hospitals are going.
00:52For buyers, the question is what they can afford.
00:55Qatari developer Barwa says controlling building costs can help keep prices down.
01:01We have a list of contractors, designers and people who can study and look the price carefully
01:10before we start building any buildings.
01:12So we have reached a point where, with the experience that we have,
01:16so we can tell you exactly how much that building will cost.
01:19So in order to sell these apartments with a lower cost of construction and development,
01:25that will be affordable and available for people to buy and living in very affordable apartments.
01:33At Cityscape, Barwa unveiled plans for Barwa Bay.
01:37The two towers at La Salle Marina will have more than 600 apartments.
01:42We're trying to bring to the market something a little bit premium,
01:47with an affordable price as well, but premium.
01:49So with a unique design, a hotel design apartment,
01:54but at the end of the day, you will own these apartments.
01:56So Barwa Bay is an iconic project.
02:00An iconic tower is easy to spot on a scale model.
02:04What's harder to picture is what the neighborhood will be like once people move in.
02:09In terms of the experience from visitors coming to Cityscape,
02:13they are able to meet with the developers directly,
02:15learn about those projects face-to-face,
02:18and actually get the true insights about what is happening,
02:20not only in the area of the projects itself, but in the neighborhood itself,
02:24where the infrastructure is going, where the communities are happening,
02:27all the amenities and utilities that really make living there feasible.
02:33The Grove is a new housing development in Lusail,
02:37designed around a pedestrian shopping street right on the waterfront.
02:41Juan says his team has been working on the Grove for about three years.
02:46Even a short walk can be a challenge in Qatar's summer heat.
02:50Juan, will residents be able to walk to the shops here,
02:53or will they still need a car?
02:55They will be able to walk, yes, absolutely.
02:57We have accommodated deep balconies so the units can enjoy external living throughout the year.
03:04We have a lot of shading and cooling elements to make those areas quite pleasant
03:10for the use, not only on a small period of time, but extend that use through the year.
03:17A school nearby or a shorter commute might draw someone to a neighborhood.
03:23It's about good schools, it's about good health care centers,
03:27it's about nice parks, it's about good pathways,
03:31it's about a clean and safe neighborhood and it do not have to cost that much.
03:40And it's often, you say, and you claim that it's lack of money or technology,
03:46but even more often it's a lack of good governance.
03:51So make the neighborhood as adaptive and as resilient as possible
03:57because the future will, in any case, look different than we think today.
04:02But buyers and renters also want to know what it's like to live in the building itself.
04:07Residents are not looking only for community these days.
04:11They want more, they want specific amenities,
04:13they want the extras that not any building can offer.
04:16They want a good landlord, they want a good facility company that's managing these towers.
04:21Abir describes an AI search tool that can suggest neighborhoods
04:25based on what buyers and renters need.
04:28So you will talk with this AI tool in a human language.
04:31I need the community that exists next to X type of schools,
04:35it needs to be next to my work which is there.
04:38Like you're talking to a person and then it will list for you
04:41all the convenient places that you can rent or buy a home.
04:44Where schools go, how streets connect,
04:47and how much shade there is will shape daily life.
04:50Those choices will matter long after construction ends
04:53when these neighborhoods become home.
