On the Use of Graphical Digital Twins for Urban Planning of Mobility Projects: a Case Study from a new District in Ålesund, Norway

Abstract

Urban planning is a complex task often involving many stakeholders of varying levels of knowledge and expertise over periods stretching years. Many urban planning tools currently exist, especially for mobility planning. However, the use of such tools often relies on ad-hoc modelling of "expensive" domain experts, which hampers to incorporate new knowledge and insights into the planning process over time. Another issue refers to the lack of interactivity, i.e., stakeholders can not easily change configurations of simulations and visualize the impact of those changes. This paper presents and discusses the benefits of using a graphical digital twin to overcome such shortcomings. We demonstrate how a digital-twin-based approach improves the current planning practices from two perspectives. The first refers to automating the configuration and data integration in models, making the tool flexible and scalable to large-scale planning involving multiple cities on a national level and supporting automatic updates of employed models when input data is updated. The second refers to supporting interaction with the model through a user interface that allows stakeholders to perform actions, leading to insightful what-if scenarios and therefore better-informed decisions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of using graphical digital twins in a compelling real usage case study concerning urban mobility planning in Ålesund, Norway. Finally, this paper also outlines recommendations and further research opportunities in the area.