From Singapore to Madrid: Five Digital Twins Transforming Urban Planning

Whether in Singapore, Milan or other major cities around the world, the development of urban digital twins is enabling us to understand and manage modern urban planning with unprecedented efficiency. 

 

Cities have become increasingly complex organisms. Not only are they expanding in size as they attract capital and talent, but they are also transforming into technological hubs where data from sensors grows exponentially and the pace of change accelerates constantly. In the age of smart cities, one way to make sense of this flood of information is through virtual replicas that converge within an intelligent urban ecosystem: digital twins.

These dynamic representations, fed by real-time data, make it possible to simulate, analyse and optimise urban operations in entirely new ways. More than just 3D modelling or visualisation, an urban digital twin is a living platform that connects sensors, management systems, artificial intelligence and citizen participation.

This article explores what urban digital twins are, the advantages they offer, five recent examples of their implementation, and the key challenges to their wider adoption.

An urban digital twin is a multimodal virtual replica of an urban area—encompassing housing, transport networks, infrastructure, environmental sensors, service systems and more—continuously updated with real-time data to simulate a variety of scenarios. Unlike a simple 3D model, which focuses on geometry and visualisation, the digital twin integrates multiple layers of information: mobility, energy consumption, air quality, water flows, urban climate and IoT data, among others.

 

These are some of its main benefits:
  1. Continuous monitoring and real-time data. With sensors distributed throughout the city, a digital twin can collect and process instant information on traffic, pollution, network performance and infrastructure behaviour.
  2. Simulation and predictive planning. Local authorities can model hypothetical situations—such as population growth, road closures or extreme weather events—to anticipate their impacts and take preventive action.
  3. Resource optimisation and cost reduction. With a holistic, predictive view of the city, interventions can be made more efficiently, from optimising street lighting and irrigation to managing energy use. This foresight helps avoid costly corrective measures.
  4. Enhanced sustainability and energy efficiency. Digital twins can pinpoint areas of high energy consumption, waste or air conditioning inefficiency, allowing corrective measures that reduce a city’s environmental footprint.
  5. Citizen participation and transparency. By offering accessible visualisations, urban digital twins help citizens understand public policies, engage in decision-making and assess the impact of municipal initiatives.
  6. Resilience to crises. In situations such as flooding, heatwaves or other urban emergencies, digital twins allow city systems to be stress-tested, helping to optimise responses and reduce reaction times.

 

However, this new technology also presents challenges. Data interoperability, governance, privacy, implementation and maintenance costs, and the shortage of specialised technical talent all represent barriers that must be overcome for cities to fully realise the potential of urban digital twins.

Here are five notable examples from around the world that demonstrate how urban digital twins are already shaping the future of cities:

 

  1. Virtual Singapore (Singapore). One of the most comprehensive and pioneering projects, Virtual Singapore is a 3D digital replica of the city-state that integrates geospatial data, urban sensors and simulation models. It enables planners to model urban scenarios, predict the environmental impact of new developments, manage emergencies and optimise both transport networks and energy efficiency.
  2. Milano Digital Twin (Milan, Italy). Milan has launched an urban digital twin to manage the city holistically. In collaboration with geoinformation firms, the project integrates topography, aerial and mobile mapping, urban data and digital infrastructure. Its goal is to improve decision-making, anticipate incidents and optimise resources in real time.
  3. DTCC — Digital Twin City (Sweden). Sweden’s national project, active since 2020, focuses on enhancing city planning, construction and operations to create more sustainable, integrated and intelligent urban environments.
  4. Helsinki Digital Twin (Finland). Helsinki has developed one of the world’s most advanced digital twins, comprising a 3D visual model and a semantic model that integrates technical data on buildings, infrastructure and environmental factors. It enables the simulation of climate change scenarios, urban energy analyses and sustainable planning for new developments.
  5. Madrid Digital Twin (Spain). In Spain, Madrid has created a digital twin platform using BIM methodology and 3D/5D models that represent the city’s elements and facilities while integrating planning data. This facilitates interoperability between public agencies, improves ICT governance and enhances the efficiency of municipal infrastructure management.

 

Alongside these examples, complementary European projects such as Snap4City and Bologna’s civic digital twin are exploring open and participatory approaches to urban modelling.

Urban digital twins illustrate the potential of merging physical and digital technologies to help us better understand our world and act on future challenges. On a broader scale, there are already digital twins of the planet itself, designed to gather and analyse complex climate data. At the other end of the spectrum are more focused models—digital twins of individual buildings, infrastructure, or even a city’s vegetation.


As artificial intelligence continues to advance and sensor technologies evolve through the Internet of Things, digital twins are expected to become ever more powerful—capable of greater predictive analysis and of detecting incidents or inefficiencies in real time.

 

Sources:

David is a journalist specializing in innovation. From his early days as a mobile technology analyst to his latest role as Country Manager at Terraview, an AI-driven startup focused on viticulture, he has always been closely linked to innovation and emerging technologies.

He contributes to El Confidencial and cultural outlets such as Frontera D, driven by the belief that the human and the technological can—and should—go hand in hand.

Innovation is a change that introduces new features. The concept is generally used in the sense of inventions, new ideas, devices, methods and processes, and the application of improved solutions meeting fresh economic or societal requirements. Strictly speaking, however, ideas can only be termed “innovations” once they have imposed themselves as successful new products, services or procedures. 

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