Episode 043 | Cool by Design: Redesigning Public Space for a Hotter Future

Dorsa Jalalian led the development of the City of Toronto's Thermal Comfort Guidelines, which treat climate adaptation as a design problem measured at street level. Our conversation covers Toronto's shift from a winter-focused planning identity to summers projected to hit 55 days above 30 degrees by mid-century. Jalalian argues for shade as public infrastructure, not amenity, and unpacks why "just plant more trees" runs into underground utilities, narrow rights-of-way, and retrofit costs. Jalalian is Associate, Senior Urban Designer and Stakeholder Engagement Lead at DIALOG. Her work focuses on embedding thermal performance into design from the earliest planning stages, treating shade equity as a core urban design issue. This conversation matters because it turns climate adaptation from an abstract global problem into a concrete design practice, one sidewalk at a time. ---- Show Notes can be found at https://theimperativepodcast.com/  The IMPERATIVE Podcast is a production of WisePath Media Inc.