Chapter Urban Centres Management: A Digital Twin Approach

Abstract

The management of the built environment is a topic that requires reference to the management of complex systems. In fact, the variety of domains involved means that the management of urban centers is not only complicated, and therefore it is not enough to model a set of rules that are representative of phenomena related to the real environment. Not only that, but what is evident is that emergency management lacks the ability to access real-time information that could be decisive. Having tools that provide real-time data, that reprocess it, and that are able to provide an enriched and slightly predictive view of what is happening offers the possibility of having a real impact in the management of the built environment. In this sense, digital twins are a valuable approach to achieving the desired results. Digital twins through the integration of technologies such as lnternet of Things (IoT), simulators, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Augmented Reality (AR) technologies make it possible to develop systems capable of exploiting the concept of collective intelligence, in a digital version, through a large number of heterogeneous agents working according to stigmergic mechanisms. This research work aims to propose its own architecture of digital twins for the management of resilient urban centers, with particular reference to the management of post-earthquake reconstruction scenarios