Virtual Open City System

In the upcoming decades, Data and AI will be central to driving sustainable development as the United Nations prescribes through several goals, many of which pertain to cities. However, data alone has little value—it is the way data is used that exposes its potential. The Data, Information, Knowledge, and Wisdom (DIKW) Pyramid effectively illustrates this concept, which emphasizes the four interconnected stages to transform raw data into actionable wisdom.

Large and small municipalities face complex challenges such as climate change, urbanization, vegetation loss, mobility, and energy transition. Just understanding these issues is not enough; they require actionable knowledge to address them effectively. Municipalities need engaged citizens and well-managed, open, and aggregated data for shaping the city of tomorrow. In other words, they need to create situational awareness of current urban environments and use this to model future scenarios, enabling informed decision-making.

We propose the development of a Virtual Open City System tailored for small to mid-sized municipalities, with the potential to be upscaled for larger cities. While platforms like ArchGIS CityEngine and UrbanFootprint exist, they are designed for large municipalities. Smaller municipalities often lack the resources and capacity to implement such systems. Our solution fills this gap by offering a comprehensive city data management platform with a flexible data model and ontology to store, curate, and manage urban data — starting with Pärnu and other selected cities as pilots. The platform will provide core functionalities, services, and API gateways that allow citizens and organizations to utilize open, high-quality city data to develop services and apps. The platform serves as a bridge between existing generic digital twins and data management systems and the needs of municipalities realizing tailored affordable digital tools in short time, building on top of the generic data management systems already available. It will support planning, communication, and citizen participation.

12.1. Virtual Open City System