ABSTRACT. Digital twin cities refer to virtual replicas of real cities which use data, AI and simulations to enhance governance of cities. The study discusses the role of digital twin cities in assisting smarter and more sustainable decision-making on real-time basis. It looks at how they can improve city planning, emergency management, as well as engaging citizens in governance. The research relies on a survey of 52 participants to know about the opinion of people concerning digital twins. The results indicate an omnipresent indication of digital twins as most responders are of the opinion that they help in efficient governance, assist in planning and also facilitate faster responses in case of an emergency. It is agreed that through the creation of AI-driven digital twins, one can avoid failures in the infrastructure and that smart governments come as a result of investments in AIs. Nevertheless, the survey contains some problems as well. Digital twin cities awareness is low, and a few respondents describe themselves as never having heard of this concept. There are also concerns about the issue of privacy since collecting real-time data involves ethical questions. Certain cities also find it difficult to embrace this technology due to its high cost and the shortage of skilled people. The study shows that more awareness is needed among people and data should have more protection to develop trust. It also recommends designing affordable solutions and training programs to allow smaller cities to apply digital twins. Through these challenges, digital twin cities are in a position to transform the form of urban governance, in making the cities efficient, sustainable, and responsive to the needs of people. This paper informs about the advantages and obstacles of the digital twins and can serve as a basis of further investigations that would help to create empirical models of digital twins implementation in various municipal environments.

Keywords: digital twin cities; urban governance; real-time data; AI integration; simulation models; smart cities; public awareness

How to cite: Poliak, M., Sabie, O.-M., and Dumitrescu, C. O. (2023). “Digital Twin Cities: Enabling Real-Time Urban Governance through Simulation and Artificial Intelligence,” Smart Governance 2(3): 68–83. doi: 10.22381/sg2320235.

Received 17 April 2023 • Received in revised form 25 September 2023
Accepted 26 September 2023 • Available online 28 September 2023