Innovative, AI-based solutions for urban planning and management

Projects are expected to contribute to the following outcomes:

• Digital Twin models with their associated tools, that use Artificial Intelligence (including generative AI), developed in line with the requirements defined in the scope, which are tested, calibrated, and implemented in each city participating in the proposal;
• Guidelines and recommended approaches on the integration and orchestration of developed models, applications and tools in urban planning and management and the subsequent decision-making process, considering synergies with the open sand-boxing infrastructure provided by the LDT-CitiVERSE-EDIC^[1];
• Capacity building, for instance, making available software in relevant platforms (such as AI on Demand platform ^[2], open source, EU LTD toolbox, etc.), and peer learning for potential replication in other cities;
• Plans for the exploitation of the project result(s) through relevant Smart Cities networks specifically of the Digital Twins developed, including a market analysis for replicability and scalability of solutions;
• Visualisation component of the Digital Twin promoting participatory urban planning and management and facilitating communication between different stakeholders, while enabling citizens to provide well-informed feedback and solutions;
• Creation of multidisciplinary communities, bringing together IT developers, urban planners, designers, local authorities, and other relevant actors. This will facilitate future activities for adaptation, enhancement and integration of existing and future AI-based applications and solutions, including Digital Twins, applied in different urban domains (e.g. infrastructure planning, including nature-based solutions, urban logistics, network and traffic management, climate neutrality, safe and inclusive streets, health and wellbeing urban space, etc.). This could be achieved through synergies with the LDT-CitiVERSE-EDIC^[3] and with other funded projects under this topic and under topics covering similar themes and aspects.

Urban planning and management require the analysis and integration of data ranging from zoning laws and buildings to overground infrastructure (street networks and their amenities, rail networks, etc.) and underground infrastructure (sewage, gas, electricity, heat, and water supply networks). Besides this complex physical urban fabric, urban planning and management cover intangible features such as administrative organisation, flows of goods and services, environmental determinants, demographic, social, and economic trends, evolving social values, behaviours, and local cultures.

Since the 1980-ties, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) integrating urban information within layers of data and translating them into tables, graphs, and maps, were introduced in urban planning with the purpose to allow a more efficient data collection, analysis, aggregation, and management, enabling planning and decision-making for increasingly sustainable and innovative cities. However, given the rapid digitalisation of almost every aspect of urban life and the increase in complexity and variety of data over the last decades, the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) opens promising, new opportunities for embedding sustainability and climate-neutrality concepts in urban planning and management. AI-based applications (including generative AI) and tools such as machine learning (ML), neural networks (NNs), deep learning, autonomous systems, pattern recognition, simulation modelling – Digital Twins, Internet of Things (IoT), etc. can be harnessed to guide decision-making, predict trends, develop scenarios, optimize resource allocation, engage citizens, and further enhance and promote human creativity, inclusiveness and well-being in urban planning and design.

This topic explores the use and integration of AI-based applications and tools, particularly of Digital Twins, in urban planning and management.

Proposals should contain a comprehensive state-of-the-art of existing AI applications and tools for urban planning and management and evidence of relevant skills for the development of Digital Twins.

Proposals are invited to develop a Digital Twin model that complies with the following requirements:

• Integrates within the urban planning process and practice and supports the development of medium- and long-term strategic visions at city level for achieving a climate-neutral city.
• Supports decision-making and prioritization of policies and investment for sustainable, energy-efficient, and climate-neutral measures and solutions through visualization, prediction, diagnosis, assessement and prevention.
• Incorporates static physical urban characteristics such as topography, buildings, overground, underground, blue-green infrastructures, energy and heat grid, also considering the EU buildings dataset from the EU_LDT toolbox and at least two of the following urban features as variables:
  • Urban functions – zoning, land-use.
  • Mobility modes and services, including freight transport and logistics.
  • Energy generation and consumption, including energy generation from RES and energy storage infrastructure (e.g., heat grid).
  • Weather forecast and reduction of pollutant emissions.
  • Socio-demographic, economic and cultural trends.
• Provides different scenarios for achieving climate-neutrality as well as the possibility to simulate the impacts when prioritizing the implementation of specific policies, measures, or solutions for the other areas/sectors, and for the city as a whole. When defining climate-neutral scenarios, both forecasting and backcasting methodologies could be employed.
• Evaluates potential use cases, and assesses the potential of replication of developed Digital Twins, in other cities.
• Allows, using its flexible features, the estimation of the resources needed to implement the different projected scenarios.

Proposals should explore the development and use of Digital Twins that incorporate real-time monitoring and response, with the purpose to support city authorities, operators, service providers and citizens to strengthen city’s resilience and its coping and response mechanisms when confronted with unexpected events or hazards.

Proposals should promote the possibility of joint policy coordination such as clustering activities guidelines, synergies from the start of the project.

The AI-based Digital Twin to be developed for each city could cover a city-wide area – the urban core but can extend as far as the functional urban areas with well-defined characteristics (in terms of morphology, density, socio-demographic and/or economic features)”. The involved cities should promote complementarity in terms of climatic conditions, city typologies and geographical balance.

This topic requires proposals from consortia that include at least three cities, each from a different Member State or Associated Country, participating as beneficiaries. At least one of the three cities must be one of the 112 cities selected for the EU Mission on Climate-neutral and Smart Cities. The consortia should include local authorities, urban planners, IT developers, operators, service providers and other relevant actors to jointly develop, test and integrate Digital Twins in urban planning and management.

A demonstrated contribution to the implementation and delivery of the Climate City Contracts and/or Sustainable Energy Action Plans, Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans and/or Sustainable Mobility Plans is expected.

Synergies with the Driving Urban Transitions partnership^[4] and the Urban Transitions Mission^[5]​​ under Mission Innovation, would be of added value, as well as synergies with the Local Digital Twin Toolbox that will be composed of open AI-based tools to foster the adoption of digital twins across rural and urban.

Proposals should also demonstrate that the proposed approaches and developed AI-Based applications and tools are built on the results from previous research and innovation actions funded under Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe calls/topics. Moreover, proposals are encouraged to explore the support of the Digital Europe Programme and its EU Toolbox for Local Digital Twins helping cities to combine data from different domains. In the same context, actions to be funded under this topic could liaise with projects funded under the third call for proposals EUI-Innovative Actions^[6], notably the topic “Technology in Cities”.

Proposals are encouraged to seek synergies, concerning the data collected and used, with the Common European Data Spaces^[7], especially the Data Spaces that are relevant such as the EU Smart Communities Data Space, the mobility Data Space, Tourism Data Space, the Green Deal Data Space etc. To plan for interoperability and compatibility with the Common European Data Spaces, proposals are invited to consider engaging with the SIMPL project^[8]. Proposals are invited to consult the Staff Working Document on the Common European Data Spaces^[9].

Proposals are expected to demonstrate the robustness of the AI-based systems and/or techniques that will be used. For instance, they should be technically robust, reliable, and able to provide a suitable explanation of its decision-making process.

Proposers should demonstrate that appropriate security measures are in place to ensure that the data collected and used in the projects are secured from unauthorised access and cannot be used for purposes other than the project.

Data Management actions should be included in the Data Management Plan part of the proposals to ensure that data used in the Digital Twins are of good quality and data generated are well documented and can be reused in future projects.

Proposals should briefly describe the environmental footprint of the AI tools in the project. If the footprint is significant (e.g., at a scale that could raise questions on the usefulness of the project), a short cost-benefit analysis should be included in the proposal, along with corresponding mitigation actions that will be taken during the project. Finally, proposals are expected to assess potential risks in the project and if relevant, describe solutions that mitigate those risks.

This action supports the follow-up to the July 2023 Communication on EU Missions assessment^[10].

[1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202400459

[2] https://www.ai4europe.eu/

[3] https://living-in.eu/news/ldt-citiverse-edic-fact

[4] https://dutpartnership.eu/

[5] https://mission-innovation.net/missions/urban-transitions-mission/

[6] https://www.urban-initiative.eu/calls-proposals/third-call-proposals-innovative-actions

[7] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/policies/data-spaces

[8] https://simpl-programme.ec.europa.eu/

[9] https://digital-strategy.ec.europa.eu/en/library/staff-working-document-data-spaces

[10] COM(2023) 457 final and SWD(2023) 260 final