From interoperable urban platforms to local digital twins: inclusive tools for resilient cities

The workshop entitled "From Interoperable Urban Platforms to Local Digital Twins: Inclusive Tools for Resilient Cities" brought together experts in urban planning and NGOs from Urbanage project and Open Agile Smart Cities, OASC to reflect around the inclusion of citizens through urban platforms for decision-making. Three main subsessions were organised to exchange around 3 necessary components to foster the replication of inclusive urban digital tools (e.g. Digital Twins) in Europe:
- Inclusiveness of cities, specifically for older people.
- Local Digital Twins for citizens' benefit.
- Peer learning and sharing of best practices regarding innovative technologies to increase the inclusiveness of the cities, based on insights from Urbanage.

After presenting the context of urbanisation and the growing ageing of populations in Europe, introduced by Roberto Di Bernardo, coordinator of Urbanage project and Senior Researcher at Engineering Ingegneria Informatica SpA the workshop moved to a ‘World Café' dynamic, where participants were invited to share their opinions, best practices and ideas for future collaboration on the topics listed above. The three sessions moderated from AGE Platform Europe and OASC allow each participant to discuss all topics, learning from methodologies used in Urbanage for the co-creation of urban platforms with older adults, to standards and interoperability standards required to encourage citizens to use Digital Twins, ending with preriquisites for replication.

Key messages in the discussion areas included:
- As we build digital urban ecosystems, no one should be left behind, including older people who are traditionally excluded from urban decision-making.
- The use of simple tools, gamification and capacity-building (peer-to-peer and train the trainer/intermediary) are innovative approaches to motivate older citizens to participate in shaping urban life..
- Minimal Interoperability Mechanisms (MIMs) and one single data collection point are crucial for civil servants to be able to take evidence-based decisions.
- Data spaces are vital for ensuring that urban data is managed ethically and in compliance with privacy regulations.
- In digital urban ecosystems, data is shared, solutions are scaled, and cities collaborate seamlessly. The result is resilient cities that can adapt to the evolving needs of their citizens, as they age, while promoting sustainability.
-There is a need for strong data governance frameworks putting the citizen in the centre of all processes and strategies, and allow for secure, ethical, and transparent data sharing without vendor lock-in.

As European cities and population is constantly evolving , the tools and concepts discussed in this workshop will play a pivotal role in shaping the cities of tomorrow. They will help civil servants to create digital urban ecosystems that are resilient, inclusive, and sustainable, ensuring a brighter future for all citizens, regardless of their age.

Outcomes of the workshop and resources developed for Urbanage project (www.urbanage.eu) will be shared to the participants of the workshop. Feedback received will be used internally to the project to reflect on the requirements necessary to create pathways for replication in Europe.