Open Urban Digital Twins - Insights in the current state of play

Abstract

In this paper, we bundle and explain insights on the added value, architecture and design of Urban Digital Twins as cross-domain urban decision support systems. In doing so, we aim to facilitate a common understanding of the concept of Urban Digital Twins. Such an understanding is much needed, as Urban Digital Twins are currently defined and understood in different ways by different people. We hope this paper will help readers, especially from the public and private sector, to consolidate a common understanding of the topic.

In recent years, the idea to build Urban Digital Twins representing entire cities and regions has gained increasing attention. Yet, as cities consist of complex ecosystems, it is not straightforward to build such Urban Digital Twins. Questions arise about how Urban Digital Twins can exactly be used to support decision making processes within the local government and how this affects design principles and architecture. These are the overall questions that we aim to address in this paper, in addition to establishing a common understanding of what Urban Digital Twins are and what they can be used for. This paper is a first version of an ongoing effort to bundle insights in the field of Urban Digital Twins.