The Citiverse is a new concept that represents a next-level digital space where citizens, communities, and city officials can interact in a virtual way by using AR/VR technology: It aims to let users explore planned urban projects before they are built, participate in virtual town halls, or test solutions to reduce traffic and pollution - all from a smartphone, tablet, or computer. Building on the European smart communities’ data infrastructure, some cities are already testing what this concept means in practice.

In a recent Living-in.EU signatory event, the first four EU-funded projects developing CitiVerse applications shared their progress after one year: 3DxVERSE, European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness, SENSE, and x-CITE. Project representatives provided an overview of the projects' latest developments and showcased four pilot uses cases: Almelo (Netherlands), Gothenburg (Sweden), Kiel (Germany) and Flanders (Belgium). 

Cities often face rising energy demands, but lack data for a successful climate adaptation of urban neighbourhoods. The 3DxVERSE project aims to address this problem by combining Digital Twin technology, participatory democracy and real-time data. By mapping energy systems in 3D, residents of the Dutch city Almelo are able to co-design a positive energy district and hydrogen-powered homes, making their communities more future-proof and sustainable.

Involving citizens in urban planning also implies adapting the city to different needs: Especially people with disabilities often face barriers when trying to participate in urban life. Through a Universal Design methodology and by working with local associations, the project European Citiverses Uniting for Inclusiveness allows families with children in wheelchairs to virtually test sites in the Swedish city of Gothenburg for accessibility, removing the anxiety of the unknown.

The virtualisation of the city does not only make the present more accessible, but also the past: the German city of Kiel is benefiting from the SENSE project by using augmented reality to overlay the historical city landscape onto the current one. Through a combination of interactive 3D models, digital city tours via smartphones, this collaboration between experts in digital transformation and local tourism allows locals and tourists to see the city as it once was, keeping history alive in a modern setting.

The Citiverse allows city residents to explore multiple areas of their community at the same time, such as mobility or urban climate, and to have a say in making it more liveable: thanks to the x-CITE project, residents in Flanders can rely on extended reality and AI-powered Digital Twins to visualise future traffic and noise scenarios: This allows them to grasp the real impact of planning decisions on their surroundings.

The CitiVerse aims to help European cities become more inclusive, by improving residents' quality of life, and setting standards for innovative and responsible digital urban development. It also addresses key challenges that cities are facing: How to make digital services more interoperable, how to close data gaps and ensure citizens’ digital rights? 

Interested in finding out more? All the material, slides and the recording are available at this link.