Page 37 - Building digital public infrastructure for cities and communities

enabled bike-sharing programmes (e.g., OV-fiets) and the Gemeente Vervoerbedrijf (GVB) transit
app integrate cycling with public transport, reducing congestion and emissions while empowering
users with seamless, car-free travel, directly supporting SDG 11 (Vujko et al., 2025).

DPI fosters the sustainable planning and management of tourism and enhances accessibility.
Turkey’s deployment of Virtual Reality (VR)/ Augmented Reality (AR) for heritage marketing illustrates
this: digital platforms democratize access to cultural sites, curating immersive experiences that
divert physical foot traffic, alleviate environmental strain and preserve fragile heritage (Karaman &
Deniz, 2025). This virtual layer also enriches cultural preservation, transforming static monuments
into dynamically engaging educational resources.

As such, DPI’s synergistic capacity to optimize resource use, decentralize visitor flows and safeguard
cultural assets prove that technology, when woven into public infrastructure, becomes a catalyst
for ecological resilience and inclusive socio-cultural vitality.

4.7 Sustainable urban food systems and rural-urban linkages

DPI seamlessly connects rural producers with urban markets while advancing sustainability,
enhancing hence rural-urban linkages and contributing to economic flows (e.g., agricultural
produce, services, labour and capital), enhanced mobility, sustainable food security and agriculture.

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