Page 20 - Redefining smart city platforms: Setting the stage for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms - A U4SSC deliverable on city platforms

To address a challenge like this, the digital twin of a city or territory requires an interoperable
platform to support co-construction, co-sharing, and co-governance, while maintaining the integrity
and security of the related systems.

From a comprehensive city management perspective, the ICT architecture that supports it must
have the spatial components embedded in its different layers. The new AI-based technologies
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in the geospatial environment of cities or Building Information Modelling must be considered
in these future ICT city architectures. The concept of the digital twin could show us the way for
a comprehensive and effective management of the city, although now it may seem ambitious,
incipient and hardly achievable. Its spatial simulation capabilities need to be well integrated with
the city's information repository and its economic information could provide solutions and city
services that were not on offer before its advent. In practice, once implemented, city operations
will rely on linked local digital twins.

A smart city platform needs to be designed and built to be able to handle the evolving requirements
of city digital twins.

3 Eight steps that cities and communities can take

Focusing now on the practical aspects, this section gives guidance on simple but essential steps
that every city or community can follow to ensure that their investments in data platforms, and in
related skills and capabilities, meet the requirements of the future.

Management aspects and technical requirements are addressed, but always together. While the
focus here is on data platforms for cities and communities, most of the recommendations can be
applied more widely to processes related to sustainable, digital development. 15

3.1 Develop a roadmap

The first step would entail developing a roadmap with the following elements in mind:

What: A roadmap gives a clear route of how to get from where you are now to where you want to
be in the next two to five years.

Why: This will enable you to have a clear sense of direction and to focus your resources effectively.

How: Start by assessing where your city or community is at the moment and develop a clear set of
targets. There are a number of helpful maturity models that you can use to assess your city in a way
that will also allow you to set some clear goals for where you want to be in the next two to five years.

10 Redefining smart city platforms: Setting the stage for Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms