Digital twins for citizen engagement

This chapter highlights the importance of people-focused place-based research to examine the role and transformative potential of digital twin technologies for local planning authorities. The chapter focuses upon strong partnership working between the City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council and the University of Bradford, UK, through the co-development of 'Virtual Bradford', which has laid the foundations for an open digital twin for Bradford City Centre. Coverage has since been expanded to include outlying areas of Bradford Metropolitan District and localities under other local authority jurisdictions, both in the UK and overseas. The chapter considers the importance of the FAIR principles and open-source methods to foster inclusive data-driven decision-making for a variety of different use cases. These include government-backed initiatives that continue to trial novel approaches for citizen engagement and consultation concerned with heritage conservation, planning and regeneration and public health. Collectively, the chapter emphasises the socio-economic value of 3D geospatial data for shaping equitable, sustainable and culturally enriched urban futures, drawing upon the importance of trust, transparency and capacity building in successful citizen engagement, whilst aligning to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.