The Urban Model Platform: A public backbone for modeling and simulation in urban digital twins

Authors: Rico Herzog, Till Degkwitz, Trivik Verma

This article introduces the Urban Model Platform as a public sociotechnical backbone for modelling and simulation in urban digital twins. Existing approaches largely rely on monolithic, centralized solutions in the tradition of neoliberal smart city-making, which often prevent pluralistic and interoperable models. Drawing on a ‘participatory design for participatory systems’ approach, conducted together with the City of Hamburg over more than three years, the authors show how an open platform built on open standards enables the decentralized integration of models from multiple stakeholders, supports communication between these stakeholders, and allows a multi-model representation of urban systems. The article also discusses the governance questions raised by such a platform, from model ownership and procurement to public capacity and digital sovereignty.

Fig. 3 from the article, published under CC BY 4.0. Image © Rico H. Herzog.
Fig. 3 from the article, published under CC BY 4.0. Image © Rico H. Herzog.

More information
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2026.102534