1g. Cities and Public Administration

Scope and Introduction

Virtual Worlds (VW) technologies, encompassing Digital Twins (DTs), XR, and immersive simulation environments, are opening new frontiers for city planning, public service delivery, citizen interaction, and administrative transformation. Essentially, these technologies enable urban stakeholders to create a parallel digital realm that mirrors and augments the physical city. Within this realm, planners and officials can model urban scenarios, test policies, and engage with citizens in ways not feasible in the analogue world.

For city governments confronting complex challenges, ranging from climate change to rapid urbanisation, VW offer a safe, data-rich "sandbox" to experiment with solutions before deploying them in the physical environment. This chapter surveys how such VW applications are being harnessed to transform urban landscapes and governance, outlines the societal benefits and emerging trends, and identifies major challenges and research needs on the path toward "virtual worlds-enabled" cities.

The scope of applications ranges from city-scale DTs, which are dynamic 3D models of urban environments with real-time data, to immersive platforms for public services and civic participation. Key domains include urban planning and design, infrastructure and environmental management, public service delivery in virtual environments, and AI-driven decision support systems that leverage city data platforms.

The focus is on how these VW tools can support the goals of sustainable, efficient, and inclusive cities, aligning with objectives like the European Green Deal's climate-neutral targets and the European Union's Digital Decade targets for digital public services. Notably, the European Commission and Member States have launched initiatives such as the CitiVerse European Digital Infrastructure Consortium to drive the development of AI-powered local Digital Twins for cities. Concurrently, global interest is surging, with nearly 700 cities worldwide expected to have deployed some form of VW or DT infrastructure by 2030.

Emerging Trends and Societal Impact

Cities and public administrations are progressively adopting VW technologies across various application areas, driven by their potential to enhance sustainability, efficiency, inclusiveness, and governance. Several key trends have emerged in recent years:

• City Digital Twins for urban planning - enabling evidence-based decision-making and preventative planning
• XR for participatory design and civic engagement - enhancing transparency and citizen involvement
• Empathic tourism and enhanced citizen interaction - through advanced AI agents and immersive experiences
• Immersive public services - creating accessible "virtual city halls" for 24/7 service delivery
• AI-powered decision support systems - optimising urban operations across multiple domains
• Virtual training and operational readiness - preparing public sector personnel for complex scenarios

The confluence of these trends signals a transformative societal impact, with cities reporting benefits such as improved sustainability outcomes, greater efficiency and cost savings, enhanced inclusiveness, and strengthened governance. A proactive commitment to inclusivity and Universal Design principles in the development of CitiVerse applications will unlock significant societal opportunities, fostering a "CitiVerse Truly for All" and catalysing "Innovation Driven by Diversity."

Use Cases

This section outlines key research areas within the cities and public administration domain, detailing their significance, current challenges, and proposed objectives for future innovation.

1g.1 Transforming urban landscapes through virtual planning

High-fidelity 3D and VR Digital Twins allow urban planners and residents to visualise proposed developments at street level, test environmental impacts, and pre-empt costly design errors. This approach moves beyond traditional 2D plans, which are often difficult to interpret and limit citizen input, enabling more evidence-based and preventative planning that can identify and mitigate negative outcomes in advance. It supports the safe experimentation with green urban innovations, aligning with climate policies.

Challenges and opportunities: Currently, only a minority of cities possess comprehensive, continuously updated 3D DTs, and existing data often resides in siloed, non-interoperable formats. While VR tools exist, they remain largely disconnected from statutory planning workflows. A significant gap also lies in the limited use of DTs as participatory platforms for urban design, hindering their transformative impact. Furthermore, there is a lack of longitudinal studies to quantify the real-world benefits of virtual planning, such as reduced errors or improved community satisfaction.

Research and Innovation Objectives: Modelling and simulation tools (2e). Automated 3D mapping, multi-domain simulation engines for holistic planning (2e). Human-computer interaction in urban design, haptic feedback, multi-user VR environments for collaborative co-creation (2c). Planning governance frameworks (3b). Standards for virtual public participation (2d). DT analyses integration into official planning processes.

1g.2 Public service delivery and citizen interaction

A "virtual city hall" in VW can offer 24/7 access to public services, reduce travel burdens, and engage digitally native residents. Immersive forums enhance transparency and participation, complementing physical offices and websites. If designed inclusively, these environments can reduce barriers for individuals with mobility impairments or scheduling constraints, making public administration more citizen-centric and accessible.

Challenges and opportunities: Current virtual civic interaction projects are primarily pilots or isolated use cases, lacking a comprehensive strategy for integrating cities into VW. There is limited evidence on the usability, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of VR public services, alongside a notable absence of standards for identity, privacy, and moderation in civic VW. The user experience for non-tech-savvy citizens remains a significant gap, limiting widespread adoption, particularly among older or disabled residents.

Research and Innovation Objectives: UX designs for diverse populations (3a). Policy experimentation to explore virtual civic rights and norms, potentially extending principles of public access and transparency to virtual spaces (3a). Integrated platforms where a city's DT, public service portal, and citizen engagement forum converge.

1g.3 Simulation models and Digital Twins: From data to decision

Real-time Digital Twins allow officials to test "what-if" scenarios, such as flood routes or urban development impacts, before implementation, leading to cost savings and potentially saving lives. These platforms enable proactive analysis rather than reactive fixes, optimising traffic flow, reducing energy waste, and improving public service delivery. They also facilitate predictive simulations, such as running thousands of variations of an evacuation plan, contributing to more resilient and efficient urban management.

Challenges and opportunities: A significant challenge lies in integrating multi-domain data from various city systems into a coherent, holistic simulation. Many cities struggle with legacy information technology systems and fragmented data pipelines, hindering real-time data assimilation and continuous model updates. There is also a lack of full-scale deployments of city DTs, with most remaining in pilot phases, and limited institutionalisation as daily decision tools across departments. Furthermore, a human resources gap exists, with a shortage of urban planners and analysts skilled in advanced simulations within the public sector.

Research and Innovation Objectives: AI as an "urban brain" that continuously learns from the DT and suggests optimisations (2f). New business models and partnerships for sustaining city DTs, encouraging co-investment and regional collaborations among municipalities (3c). City DT starter kits adaptable for municipalities of different sizes.

1g.4 Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven decision support and interoperable data platforms

Cross-domain data combined with AI forecasts can optimise traffic, energy, and safety within cities. Interoperable data platforms break down silos, reduce duplication, and provide the backbone for AI-driven solutions, allowing information to flow freely and securely between departments. This enables holistic AI analysis and supports transparent, accountable decision-making in the public sector, aligning with ethical and legal requirements.

Challenges and opportunities: Many cities still operate with fragmented data in departmental silos, and AI deployments are often one-off pilots rather than part of a coherent strategy. Legacy information technology systems hinder easy data sharing, and common ontologies for data integration are often missing. Algorithmic opacity and bias in AI models, particularly for high-risk public sector uses, pose significant challenges to transparency and accountability. Furthermore, regulatory clarity at the local level regarding AI Act and Data Governance Act implementation remains a gap, potentially slowing innovation.

Research and Innovation Objectives: Trustworthy AI for the public sector (2f). Ethical and legal frameworks specific to AI use in cities (3a, 3b, 3e). Federated city data infrastructure, including technical blueprints for urban data spaces that can interconnect with national and European data spaces.

Recommendations

To effectively harness the transformative potential of VW technologies for cities and public administration, a strategic and integrated approach is recommended across several key areas.

Comprehensive City-Scale Digital Twins: A concerted effort is needed to develop and implement comprehensive city-scale DTs. This involves improving city modelling and simulation tools, including automated 3D mapping and multi-domain simulation engines for holistic planning. Crucially, these DTs must be designed as participatory platforms, integrating human-computer interaction advancements like haptic feedback and multi-user VR environments to facilitate collaborative urban co-creation. Reference implementations and templates for city DTs should be developed to serve as adaptable starter kits for municipalities of varying sizes.

Public Service Platforms: The development of public service delivery and citizen interaction platforms within VW must be prioritised. This requires user experience designs tailored for diverse populations, ensuring intuitive interfaces and accessibility for all citizens, including those with limited digital literacy or disabilities. Integrated platforms where a city's DT, public service portal, and citizen engagement forum converge into a single, interoperable system are essential. Furthermore, policy experimentation is needed to explore virtual civic rights and norms, extending principles of public access and transparency to these emerging digital spaces.

AI Integration and Data Infrastructure: The integration of AI for decision support and the establishment of interoperable data platforms are fundamental. This involves developing federated city data infrastructure, including technical blueprints for urban data spaces that can interconnect with national and European data spaces. Advancing trustworthy AI for the public sector through algorithmic techniques that embed explainability and fairness checks is crucial, along with creating sandboxing environments for model testing. Ethical and legal frameworks specific to AI use in cities, including municipal AI ethics guidelines and legal research on liability in AI-aided decisions, must be established to ensure transparent and accountable governance.

Ethical and Legal Frameworks: Addressing the ethical, legal, and socio-technical challenges of urban VW is paramount. This includes developing ethical frameworks and toolkits for cities, alongside establishing legal sandboxes for urban digital innovation to allow controlled piloting of new virtual services or AI deployments. Creating public engagement and education programmes to improve digital literacy and build trust in government technology is vital to ensure diverse participation and mitigate risks of exclusion.

Hardware and User Experience: Sustained investment in hardware for XR systems, coupled with a focus on user interaction and ergonomics, is necessary for widespread adoption. This entails developing cost-effective, user-friendly, and ruggedised XR devices with low-latency displays and high-precision spatial anchoring suitable for diverse urban applications. Research into advanced user interface/UX designs that facilitate rapid cognition and minimise distraction in XR environments, alongside human factors research to ensure ergonomic comfort, will be critical for enhancing human performance and ensuring the well-being of urban professionals.

Capacity Building: Comprehensive digital and psychocultural literacy programmes can empower citizens, transforming them from passive users to active, critical, and creative participants in the digital fabric of their city, thereby strengthening social cohesion and unlocking new forms of civic engagement and community building.