Panel Discussion (30 Jun): Unlocking value in cities from buildings, data and AI

Explore how AI, building data and connected urban infrastructure can help cities improve sustainability, resilience and operational performance.

OnDemand Trend Report Panel Discussion: Operating smarter: using digital twins and AI to reshape urban infrastructure management

Discover how AI-powered digital twins are transforming urban infrastructure and how these innovations can improve efficiency, resilience, and sustainability.

SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026: connecting climate action, resilience and urban innovation

As cities confront the combined pressures of climate change, infrastructure resilience and digital transformation, the SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026 will bring together urban leaders and partners during London Climate Action Week to explore how these agendas intersect – and how cities can translate strategy into practical action.

Cities Climate Action Summit 2024: going green in the built environment

The SmartCitiesWorld Summit, which takes place 26-27 June, will act as a call to action for cities to make the transformation of the built environment a central part of their climate action strategies.

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Shenzhen

SmartCitiesWorld City Profiles explore the city of Shenzhen, designated as China’s first special economic zone and a role model of urban modernisation. Find out more about Shenzhen’s smart city strategy in this 16-page report.

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sydney

In 2020, the City of Sydney released a Smart City Strategic Framework to harness the opportunities brought about by digital disruption, to plan for uncertainty and to sustain a global reputation as a leading place to live, work, learn and visit.

Podcasts

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

Podcast: Building resilient cities: trustworthy AI, digital twins, and urban innovation at YII 2025Sponsored by Bentley Systems

SmartCitiesWorld speaks with Bentley Systems leaders about unleashing AI and digital twins to drive innovation, resilience, and people-first progress in the world’s cities.

Opinions

Building smarter cities: scaling sustainability and efficiency with smart city platformsSponsored by ST Engineering

ST Engineering’s Richard Ng explains how integrated smart city platforms can support cities in becoming more sustainable and efficient at the scale that is right for them.

Lessons from Italy: Why smart city projects can bridge the urban development gap

Digital Leaders CEO Giuliano Liguori highlights Italy as an example and warning that pushing ahead with smart city plans should ensure access for the worst off, on an individual and municipal level, as top priority.

22 - 26 June 2026: Find out more

Latest City Profile

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Sunderland

Smart Cities Reports

Find out how Sunderland is repositioning itself as a leading smart city – using digital infrastructure and low-carbon innovation to build a resilient, future-focused economy in the latest SmartCitiesWorld City Profile.

Latest Trend Report

Trend Report: The impact of AI and data on transportation operations and services

Trend Series

Delve into how cities are addressing the challenges of building intelligent transport systems and using AI and data to transform operations and user experience.

Latest Summit Speakers
(22-26 June)

Lord Marvin Rees OBE

Former Mayor

Bristol City Council

Find out more

Julie Foley OBE

Director of Flood Risk Strategy & Adaptation

Environment Agency

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Sherelle Fairweather

Digital Strategy Lead

Manchester’s Digital Strategy

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Jaromir Beranek

Deputy Mayor for Transport

City of Prague

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Liz St Louis

Smart City Director

Sunderland City Council

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Cllr Susan Aitken

Leader

Glasgow City Council

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Mark Wheeler

CIO

Montgomery County

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John Moran

Mayor

Limerick City and County Council

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Matjaž Rakovec

Mayor

City of Kranj

Find out more

Erin Mendenhall

Mayor

Salt Lake City

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Julia King

The Baroness Brown of Cambridge DBE FREng FRS

House of Lords

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Latest Webinar

Panel Discussion (30 Jun): Unlocking value in cities from buildings, data and AI

Webinars

Explore how AI, building data and connected urban infrastructure can help cities improve sustainability, resilience and operational performance.

Latest Podcast

Cities Thriving on Lighting, Episode 3 – What global cities are learning from smart lighting

Podcasts

Join the final episode of Cities Thriving on Lighting to discover how global cities are approaching smart lighting and the related cybersecurity risks today.

Latest Urban Exchange Podcast

Urban Exchange Podcast Episode 32 – Flood and energy resilience in Quezon City

Urban Exchange Podcast

Tune in for the latest Urban Exchange where we get a first-hand account of city resilience measures from Quezon City following unexpected extreme rainfall.

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SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Home | Connectivity & Data | Digital twins

Digital twins

A digital twins is a virtual representation of a physical product, service, or asset. It can be a digital replica of an individual object, such as a vehicle or building, but can also be extended to larger scales, such as entire cities. Here are just some of the latest stories, opinions on digital twins.

Digital visualisation tool aims to build greater public trust

Digital visualisation tool aims to build greater public trust

Planning and redevelopment13 May 2026

New flagship community consultation tool Engage3D uses game-engine technology to provide visualisation and total transparency in infrastructure planning.

Smart island enters next development phase

Smart island enters next development phase

Digital twins09 Mar 2026

Ambassadori Island Batumi in the Black Sea region is working with Arup to implement a smart city framework that integrates advanced digital infrastructure.

Abu Dhabi and Baku establish Twin City partnership

Abu Dhabi and Baku establish Twin City partnership

News24 Feb 2026

The agreement sets out a commitment by Abu Dhabi and the Baku City Executive Power to enhance quality of life and advance sustainability-led urban development.

Tampere invites residents to co-design their smart city

Tampere invites residents to co-design their smart city

Citizen engagement21 Oct 2025

Survey represents an opportunity to share what kinds of digital tools and services residents would like, and help shape the future of Tampere as a smart city.

Bentley Systems announces infrastructure awards finalists

Bentley Systems announces infrastructure awards finalists

Digital twins06 Aug 2025

The awards celebrate the achievements of engineers and project teams in advancing infrastructure for better quality of life through digital innovation.

BizzTech and Atlas team to advance smart city innovation

BizzTech and Atlas team to advance smart city innovation

Digital twins23 Jul 2025

This alliance brings together immersive digital twin technology and real-time traffic analytics for next-generation traffic and smart city applications.

Smart City Expo 2025 urges cities to become drivers of change

Smart City Expo 2025 urges cities to become drivers of change

News04 Jul 2025

Organiser Fira de Barcelona reports there will be a new “AI-enabled Cities” area, showcasing how the technology can improve and speed up urban transformation projects.

AI-powered Urban Metaverse to ‘revolutionise’ how smart cities operate

AI-powered Urban Metaverse to ‘revolutionise’ how smart cities operate

AI and Machine Learning29 Apr 2025

Peachtree Corners is collaborating with BizzTech to develop an AI‑driven metaverse platform that will redefine urban planning around local city challenges.

SmartCitiesWorld’s top news stories of 2024

SmartCitiesWorld’s top news stories of 2024

News30 Dec 2024

Which cities, trends and technologies made the smart cities headlines over the past 12 months? SmartCitiesWorld brings you its 10 top stories of 2024.

Siemensstadt Square: blueprint for the city of the future?

Siemensstadt Square: blueprint for the city of the future?

Digital twins27 Jun 2024

Combining the real and the digital worlds, technology from Siemens Xcelerator portfolio will form the backbone of the new neighbourhood in Berlin Spandau.

Most Popular

What is ‘Smart City’ and why do we need them?

Smart city is the framework based on Information and Communication technologies that enable the development of sustainable practices to address the urbanisation challenges. Leveraging the technology is one of the foremost pillars of ‘smart cities’ in order to increase efficiencies and improve the quality of resident’s life and the city’s services.

ST Engineering to provide smart city platform for Lusail City

The company will build and operate a smart city platform with citywide network connectivity for the Qatar city using advanced AI and data-driven technologies.

Solar city goes live

Trina Solar’s PV modules have begun operations in the 10MW Sustainable City in Dubai, which aims to use only clean energy sources

Never fear, Watson is here!

Currently, the average data breach takes organisations an average of 201 days to identify and an average of 70 days to contain

Swedish city on path to smart

Energy company Mälarenergi is working with ABB to develop smart city solutions for the city of Västerås

SmartCitiesWorld Newsletters (Daily/Weekly)

Our editorial newsletter pulls together our latest news items into one email, direct to your inbox. We also feature our latest city interviews, Special Reports and Guest Opinions.

Guest Opinions

Advancing adoption of digital twin technologySponsored by FIWARE

Albert H Seubers, Global Strategy Director Smart X, Atos, and Val De Oliveira, FIWARE Foundation explore how cities can ...

Think tank: City life on Mars? Creating human centred communities in space and beyond

In the latest in our series of opinions from our Advisory Board, the City of Mississauga’s Anthea Foyer says it’s time ...

Jointly building a smart city helps us all enjoy better urban livesSponsored by Huawei

Closed ecosystems mean limited choices, limited innovation, limited success, writes York Yuekun.

Resilient cities are being redefined by the coronavirus

Covid-19 is showing us what resilience in cities actually is, writes Stephen Zoegall, director of global cities and ...

Connected Cities: Has the future changed in light of Covid-19?

The Covid-19 pandemic should force us to change how we use buildings, argues Meagan Crawford, Executive Director of ...

Smart city trend tracker: The top stories on SmartCitiesWorld in 2019

We round up our main takeaways from smart city developments in 2019. We’d love to hear yours.

Why the UK needs a national digital twin

Matthew Evans, executive director, techUK, explores how we can make the vision of a national digital twin a reality, ...

Special Reports

SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026: connecting climate action, resilience and urban innovation

SmartCitiesWorld Summit 2026: connecting climate action, resilience and urban innovation

City Profiles

Smart Cities Reports

SmartCitiesWorld City Profile – Shenzhen

SmartCitiesWorld City Profiles explore the city of Shenzhen, designated as China’s first special economic zone and a role model of urban modernisation. Find out more about Shenzhen’s smart city strategy in this 16-page report.