The article examines the impact of the virtual public sphere on how urban spaces are experienced and conceived in our data-driven society. It places particular emphasis on urban scale digital twins, which are virtual replicas of cities that are used to simulate environments and develop scenarios in response to policy problems. The article also investigates the shift from the technical to the socio-technical perspective within the field of smart cities.

The world is going through a transformative journey and so are cities. As centers of innovation and shared prosperity, cities are where the future happens first, hence envisioning the Future of Cities is anticipating the future of human living.

Cities are complex systems connected to economic, ecological, and demographic conditions and change. They are also characterized by diverging perceptions and interests of citizens and stakeholders. Thus, in the arena of urban planning, we are in need of approaches that are able to cope not only with urban complexity but also allow for participatory and collaborative processes to empower citizens. This to create democratic cities.

Population growth will confront the City of Zurich with a variety of challenges in the coming years, as the increase in the number of inhabitants and jobs will lead to densification and competing land uses. The tasks for the city administration have become more complex, whereas tools and methods are often based on traditional, static approaches while involving a limited number of citizens and stakeholders in relevant decisions.

Data spaces create the conditions for a market among diverse participants interested in collaborating, by sharing and exchanging data. The European strategy for data1 aims to speed up the development of the European data ecosystem and economy to harness the societal value of data, ensuring Europe’s global competitiveness and data sovereignty. Through the Digital Europe Programme, the European Commission is investing in nine common European data spaces in strategic economic sectors and domains.

Exploiting smart cities with digital twins (SCDT) requires the integration of sensing and simulation across diverse infrastructure systems into community management. Community disaster management can provide a valuable foundation for SCDT development. The current work proposes and tests a conceptual model of a SCDT for disaster management and describes two threats to SCDT development that can be mitigated by focusing development on disaster management. Information loops, as opposed to individual components, are identified as a critical future focus of SCDT development.

This study summarises the work done over the course of this project and presents the main outcomes and findings. It aims to provide guidance and recommendations to public administrations developing and operating integrated public services on how to approach organisational and governance issues related to the development of these services. In order to support this objective, the study presents a theoretical understanding of organisational interoperability and integrated public service governance.

Interoperability is a prerequisite for electronic communication and the exchange of information between different actors, but it is much broader than technical in nature. Taken in the broader sense as presented in the EIF4CC, interoperability is a necessary condition for achieving and further developing Smart Cities and Communities in Europe. Interoperability is crucial to overcome challenges in cities and communities.

Public administrations have many challenges to address that could benefit from algorithms, but at the same time we are expected to avoid any side effects. For this reason, in 2020, the Generalitat de Catalunya generated a proposal for a framework for algorithm ethics, consisting of a set of principles and organisational measures for the responsible implementation of algorithms.

Living Labs represent a dynamic and user-centered approach to innovation, combining real-life and simulated environments to promote co-creation and collaboration. These ecosystems bring together multiple stakeholders, including academia, industry, the public sector, and civil society, to address complex challenges. By employing iterative processes and systematic methodologies, Living Labs enable the design, testing, and evaluation of innovative solutions tailored to user needs and specific contexts.