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What the Document Is
This is an original research article published on 2 November 2023 in Frontiers in Big Data by Stefano Calzati of the Department of Urbanism, Delft University of Technology. It examines the maturity of City Digital Twins (CDTs), defined as dynamic digital models of the physical city integrated with it in both directions in real time, in three European cities: Dublin, Helsinki and Rotterdam.
Aims and Context
- The article moves beyond high-level conceptualisations to ask what a CDT can do, how, and for whom.
- It frames current agendas as tech-centred (focused on technical limitations) and practice-first (hands-on projects lacking long-term governance).
- The study places CDTs along Gartner's hype-mainstream curve. The author notes that Gartner's 2017 cycle expected digital twins to reach mainstream adoption within 10 years, and that the curve is treated as descriptive rather than prescriptive.
Methodology
- The three cities were chosen as early, consolidated and ongoing CDT projects, each with about 500,000 inhabitants.
- Evidence combined academic literature, grey literature such as official websites and reports, and six interviews collected between September 2022 and January 2023 with one leading representative per city.
- Analysis covered three levels: technical, sociotechnical and governance, with maturity visualised along an integration and real-time synchronisation trajectory.
Case Findings
- Dublin: The Smart Dublin initiative, with roots in the mid-2010s, is organised around five pillars. The author describes development as fragmented and largely led by private companies, and the interviewee said that interoperability across projects is a major challenge.
- Helsinki: Earliest 3D models date to 1987, and the Kalasatama digital twin uses open government data. The interviewee said the project is mostly visualisation, and that there is currently no coordination across projects.
- Rotterdam: The "Digitale Stad" initiative began at the end of 2018 and entered implementation. It uses a platform-based Open Urban Platform, developed with Future Insight and Capgemini under a 10-year agreement.
Key Findings
- All three CDTs are still at an early stage of development.
- None of the three cities uses CDTs for policymaking, and citizen involvement is largely limited to consultation or feedback.
- Each city shows a different governance model: lean and private-partner-led in Dublin, municipality-centric in Helsinki, and platform-centric with a multistakeholder approach in Rotterdam.
- The author reports that the Gartner mainstream timeline is likely to take longer in the urban context.
Why It Matters for Urban Digital Twin Policy
The article states that its purpose is to clarify what CDTs can do, how, and for whom, and to map their current state of development in Europe. It addresses those working on the digitalisation of urban environments, and it calls for longitudinal and comparative research, as well as broader stakeholder inclusion, including private actors and citizens.