Digital Twins and Smart Cities: A New Era for Urban Planning and Services

Advances in computing technology, data storage, and the Internet of Things (IoT) have turned smart cities from a science fiction fantasy into a reality. Despite making exceptional strides in engineering and development, professionals aren’t done yet. 

Digital twins are the next frontier for these futuristic urban areas. What advantages could this state-of-the-art solution offer?

Digital Twins & Smart Cities: A Natural Pairing

Cities are getting smarter. Experts estimate the smart city market will reach $115.3 billion by 2029, up from $72.52 billion in 2024. The projected compound annual growth rate of 9.72 percent demonstrates the increasing prevalence of smart technologies in urban planning and services.

Interconnected technology is the backbone of the modern smart city. Everything from transportation infrastructure to wastewater management uses internet-enabled sensors, cameras, and meters. 

On paper, this level of digitalization should elevate efficiency and streamline operations. However, city managers consistently run into a problem — their disparate systems add an inefficient layer of complexity to their workflows.

Smart cities need something that simplifies and centralizes IoT-generated insights. What better solution than a digital twin?

A digital twin processes data from its real-world counterpart in real-time, enabling on-the-go analyses and informing decision-making. Professionals can plug this information into a visualization medium to share insights or realistically simulate events. 

Despite being relatively new, experts already expect it will generate a tremendous amount of value. Global Data estimates the market for digital twin technology will reach $154 billion by 2030, up from $17 billion in 2023, achieving a 37.4 percent compound annual growth rate. This estimation underscores this technology’s potential. 

Potential Applications for Digital Twins in Smart Cities 

With digital twins, officials can simulate their city’s entire life cycle. They can monitor infrastructure, track projects and identify areas of opportunity. Since the insights are collected, aggregated, and stored digitally, they can be seamlessly shared on a website or application for citizens to view. 

Infrastructure monitoring and maintenance are among the most common digital twin applications. With IoT sensors, city managers and maintenance teams can remotely monitor buildings, parking lots, tunnels, reservoirs, and roads for mundane wear and tear. 

Remote condition monitoring allows officials to dispatch preventive maintenance teams as needed instead of periodically, saving time, money, and resources. 

Real-time insights are incredibly helpful in emergencies. For example, if a bridge collapses due to a storm or a road becomes impassable because of floodwaters, a platform can issue an immediate alert.

Seamlessly managing emergencies and disasters is the true test of smart city infrastructure. Whether a water main bursts or a building catches fire, technicians and first responders must be able to reach the area as soon as possible. 

As urban populations grow, concentrated vehicle volume has steadily risen, elevating fuel consumption, increasing air pollution, and contributing to productivity losses. 

Since traffic is so dynamic, real-time data is necessary for management. A digital twin enables route planning by instantaneously displaying changes in congestion, road closures, and traffic light status.

Digital twins can be used to explore “what if” scenarios outside of day-to-day monitoring and management. How will traffic congestion change if city planners replace a four-way stop with a roundabout? Will increased tourism stemming from a newly built public ice rink raise electricity costs downtown?

In Des Moines, Iowa, a digital twin is being used for this purpose. Aaron Greiner, the city’s geographic information system manager, says city planners use it to assess the impact of future projects. They want to “protect the view” of the “iconic golden dome” at the state capitol building.

Considering Interoperability and Cybersecurity Challenges

Industry leaders should consider several technical and administrative factors before implementing IoT-powered digital twins in smart cities.

Technical Interoperability 

To achieve technical interoperability, digital twins must reliably communicate with data storage systems, IoT technologies, and each other. Achieving this at scale is complicated simply because of the technological disparities between legacy and modern systems. 

Will the platform’s insights be overlaid onto a three-dimensional base map of the city or will the output appear in a spreadsheet? Can professionals use their decades-old closed-circuit television systems, or will they need to upgrade to smart surveillance before integration?

Organizational Interoperability 

Does the digital twin belong to the city planners? Will maintenance teams have full or limited access to the platform’s insights? Are vendors needed to oversee the implementation of IoT? 

Organizational interoperability involves simplifying bureaucracy among stakeholders to enable seamless integration, collaboration, and utilization.

Dynamic Interoperability 

Dynamic interoperability requires intelligence and responsiveness, even in the face of complex architectures and advanced technologies. Instead of simply ensuring the digital twin and its integrations work, professionals must create a robust, efficient ecosystem around it.

Achieving this stage of interoperability is crucial for smart cities. After all, how can those in charge consistently maximize value and optimize processes if systems remain siloed? Each one affects another. Since they are intertwined, the platform managing them must also be. 

Cybersecurity Concerns 

While technical and administrative considerations are essential, security must take priority. Embedding internet-enabled nodes in every bridge, traffic light and public building exponentially expands the attack surface, making it easier for hackers to go unnoticed while exploiting vulnerabilities. City officials must create a dedicated cybersecurity unit to handle this threat.

Digital Twins May Soon Become a Staple in Smart Cities

Digital twin technology is still in its infancy. Numerous different platforms, integrations, and services exist — and standardization may not emerge for years — so narrowing down a reputable, effective solution may be challenging. 

Professionals should identify city-specific pain points to determine the best fit before developing an implementation strategy.