Toolbox

The 3D Project Planner is a digital web application based on the Masterportal. It enables planners in public administration to analyze construction projects in the 3D city model using geodata and to quickly and easily sketch their own urban development ideas.

Address Twin transfers all Leipzig addresses into a spatial register and models dependencies on buildings and small-scale structures. The data will be integrated into address-using processes as a municipal standard in the long term.

AI-supported floor detection fills a data gap within the city. Several data sources were combined to record the number of floors for each building and assign this information to a specific building so that it could be entered into a database.

Parking space detection with AI: Using object-based image recognition, the system automatically detects occupied and vacant parking spaces. This provides cities and public authorities with a reliable data basis for developing parking concepts, such as resident parking in heavily used neighborhoods.

ALLRIS stands for “General Council Information System” – the LLM prototype ALLRIS-GPT, developed by ScaDS.AI, analyzes decisions and proposals from the Leipzig Council Information System and reveals thematic connections between council proposals.

With beteilige.me, civil society organizations can implement their own participation processes. The opinions, knowledge, and wishes of citizens can thus be recorded “bottom-up” as georeferenced text contributions and photos.

A shared digital environment enables cities and event organizers to plan and coordinate large events more effectively. The use of digital twins and the BIM method makes planning, communication, and implementation more efficient, transparent, and sustainable.

BIMFabrikHH is a web-based open source tool for creating basic BIM models from open geodata for Hamburg. After selecting an area and entering project data, a standard-compliant IFC file is generated. The process enables direct reuse in planning processes—as well as in the specially developed BIM Viewer integrated into the Masterportal.

GeWoRa bundles address- and building-related data from the city of Leipzig and forms the basis of the municipal building twin. The database links information across disciplines, thus supporting efficient planning – for example, in heat planning, neighborhood development, or blackout prevention.

The Munich Building and Housing Register serves as an essential data source and comprises both basic building data and specialized building data, which are used in various applications for visualizations, analyses, and simulations. A key advantage is interoperability, which facilitates interdisciplinary data use.

The dashboard displays charging infrastructure and parking spaces for electric vehicles in public spaces. It replaces complex tables with a visual planning aid and enables targeted control of locations for administration and urban planning.

Connected Urban Simulations makes noise and wind simulations usable for urban planning in order to assess environmental impacts at an early stage. The Urban Model Platform, OGC API processes, and tools such as 3D Modeller, Scenario Explorer, and Scenario Discovery Module create a flexible, future-proof solution.

The Dashboard Tool for Housing Market Monitoring (WMB) is a digital visualization tool for the automated evaluation of housing market data. The aim of the monitoring is to provide neutral planning bases for the housing market and to derive recommendations for action for local politics.

The Data Narrator (DANA) is an add-on for the Masterportal that allows georeferenced data sets to be supplemented with text, photos, and images. This makes it possible to expand the often highly technical representations with information and more vivid illustrations.

The Leipzig daycare network plan visualizes childcare needs and available places. It integrates data from several specialist departments, complies with legal requirements, and allows simulations of the impact of planning scenarios in the urban area.

Climate-neutral and resource-efficient urban development ideally takes place at the neighborhood level in existing buildings. In the future, Munich will use a development tool that consolidates data on a neighborhood, enables automated analyses, and prepares the results in a tailored manner.

An Open Source Digital Twin is being created for the city of Lüderitz (Namibia). It supports urban planning in the context of the planned expansion of renewable energies (green hydrogen) and transfers CUT’s participatory approaches to promote citizen science.

Digital urban monitoring is a tool used by the Hamburg city administration to help identify displacement and gentrification processes in mixed-use neighborhoods. A map-based web application provides data on population, social structure, and rent trends.

A constant overview is needed for the targeted expansion of renewable energies: How far has the expansion of plants progressed? Where are potential areas located? What is the situation with regard to the charging infrastructure? The Energy Atlas can be used to identify current expansion statuses and potential and to plan strategic measures.

Energy-efficient neighborhood development uses digital models of urban neighborhoods to plan energy concepts more quickly and soundly. It supports specialist agencies, energy suppliers, and offices in analysis, measure development, implementation, and monitoring in existing buildings.

The Energy Transition Dashboard supports climate protection managers and urban planners in making decisions about the expansion of renewable energy. It draws on data from the Federal Network Agency’s Market Master Data Register and is continuously further developed within a municipal development consortium.

Sensors that capture traffic, infrastructure, and environmental data in real time are essential for Urban Digital Twins. The CUT project expanded the sensor data infrastructure in Leipzig and Munich. Data was provided via OGC SensorThings API and integrated into 3D Tiles and CityGML 3.0.

The concept of the geo base twin forms the binding basis for the spatial reference of all Urban Digital Twins. It comprises the intelligent networking of area-related geobasis information, considers methods for analyzing this data, and thus assumes a broker functionality.

The Open Source visualization software Apache Superset was further developed in the CUT project to integrate geodata into dashboards via the OGC WFS interface. The aim is to support spatial filter functions. Leipzig, Bonn, and Mönchengladbach developed three new features for this purpose as part of a partnership.

DIPAS is an advanced Open Source solution for citizen participation – both online and on-site. DIPAS seamlessly integrates geodata and can be integrated into existing urban IT ecosystems. This makes it a useful tool for cities and municipalities that want to effectively involve their citizens in planning processes. As part of the CUT project, the DIPAS frontend and admin backend were redesigned.

The DIPAS software was adapted and made configurable as part of the CUT project so that it can be easily transferred to other cities and municipalities. Individual customizations, such as your own appearance, can be implemented straightforwardly. The DIPAS software can either be set up and hosted independently in your own infrastructure or obtained and operated via the German Administration Cloud as a service from dataport.kommunal without a tender process.

The dashboard displays key figures on current and past participation processes fully automatically in real time, thus providing an introduction to each participation process.

The tool presents urban planning content and geodata in an interactive storytelling format and supports dialogue with the public.

The tool enables participation in text content by allowing passages to be marked, commented on, evaluated, and jointly developed.

AI-supported, large amounts of feedback can be structured and evaluated – transparently, based on geodata, and to support technical decisions.

The city center specialist portal is a digital tool based on the Masterportal for analyzing data relevant to city centers. It supports administration, politics, and planning in Hamburg in the exchange and data-based decisions on inner city development.

The location search enables the drawing of search circles based on the geodata infrastructure, for example for antenna systems, and the targeted search and coordination of suitable urban areas for multiple use by telecommunications, science, and other stakeholders.

The Masterportal is an open-source geoportal that was further developed as part of the project. In addition to the BIM viewer, the new features include the 3D project planner, a template function, a front end for simulations, and a storytelling tool.

The metadata catalog (MDK) of the city of Munich was implemented based on the CKAN standard and the SDDI concept of the TUM. As part of the Urban Digital Twin, it automatically collects city-wide
metadata and makes it available for further use via a clearly structured interface.

Climate-neutral and resource-efficient urban development ideally takes place at the neighborhood level in existing buildings. In the future, Munich will use a neighborhood development tool that consolidates data on a neighborhood, enables automated analyses, and prepares the results in a tailored manner.

The Leipzig Open Data Portal provides administrative data in an open, standardized, and machine-readable format. Interfaces enable automated data exchange between municipal data catalogues. Citizens and developers use the data for apps and visualizations, such as “LEIPZIG GIESST” based on the tree register.

The pop-up platform is a flexible prototyping tool that helps
test and deploy technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), Urban Data Platforms, and Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS). This allows specific use cases to be tested, technical challenges to be identified, and suitable solutions to be developed.

Puls Leipzig is an economy-focused trend analysis based on aggregated social media data. AI-supported filtering is used to identify relevant topics and visualize them in dashboards. Economic development and magistral management provide specific questions for this purpose.

The automated road condition analysis detects cracks, potholes, and other damage using image and sensor data, even on different road surfaces. The spatially localized results provide a reliable data basis for maintenance, repair, and prioritization.

The Scenario Explorer is an extension of the master portal. It allows users to access and execute shared models on the Urban Model Platform and view them as data layers. It also enables scenario comparisons and uncertainty analyses using model ensembles.

The CityGML 3.0 standard enables structured 3D modeling of roadways, sidewalks, street furniture, and vegetation. It has been tested in Leipzig and Munich and expanded to include the Road2CityGML3 guideline to support urban planning processes.

The SDDI catalogue system supports cities in establishing Urban Digital Twins. It connects data, tools, and applications, facilitates metadata maintenance, enables multi-client operation, and transparently displays technical dependencies.

Sumonity is an interface that connects the microscopic traffic simulator SUMO (Simulation of Urban MObility) with the Unity game engine. This enables unprecedented simulation accuracy and an improved user experience in traffic simulations.

The Urban Data Platform (UDP) Hamburg is the city’s central data hub. The project introduced ldproxy to create new data access points via OGC API features. The containerized data integration is open source, and the new customer portal is supported by data automation.

The Urban Model Builder is an Open Source platform for collaborative modeling of urban systems. Models are based on current data via interfaces to Urban Data and Model Platform. Thanks to a low-code interface, they are also understandable and expandable for non-programmers.

A key element of Digital Twins are what-if scenarios, for example relating to climate, traffic, or noise. They use simulation to show the effects of planned measures. The Urban Model Platform links various simulation models in a common system.

The winning design of the urban planning competition for Matthäikirchhof in Leipzig was implemented in virtual reality and integrated into the 3D city model of Leipzig. The project teams and planning offices worked together across cities to implement the project.

Virtual reality (VR) enables early visualization of planned urban spaces from different perspectives. Digital Twins and simulators show usage scenarios with movement, wind, 360° audio, and sensors and cameras to record driving behavior, for example of bicycles and e-scooters.

The CUT VR prototype enables the immersive visualization of urban planning processes. Users can virtually walk through construction projects and compare variants in the real urban environment – including live data such as traffic flows. The aim is to make technical data more accessible and to facilitate participation and coordination.

With the help of virtual reality (VR), you can walk through your own city, fly over it, and immerse yourself in planned buildings. As an interactive visualization platform, VR provides new insights into urban development and urban data in the Digital Twin.

As part of baseline and endline assessments, the urban data platforms (UDP) and digital twins (UDZ) in Munich, Hamburg, and Leipzig were analyzed at the beginning and end of the CUT project. The endline assessment also took into account twin topics in accordance with DIN SPEC 91607.

The CUT Academy is a digital training program offered by the CUT project. In short video formats, experts from the three project cities impart practical knowledge on the topics of urban data, Digital Twins, and digital urban development.

The CUT study on models and simulations is aimed at city administrations and offers an introduction to the topic of Urban Digital Twins. At the same time, it records the current status of simulation models in use, thus creating a sound basis for further developments.

The board provides a digital overview of tools and methods that are suitable for use in informal (digital) participation processes and have been tested as part of the CUT project in Hamburg, Leipzig, and Munich.

The DIN specification (DIN SPEC) provides cities and municipalities with a basis for implementing Urban Digital Twins. The standard was developed with over 40 experts, including the CUT team, and is a milestone for the standardization of Digital Twins in Germany and Europe.

The CUT glossary is a reference work on the project website. It explains key terms from the fields of urban data, Digital Twins, and digital urban development in an understandable way and is continuously expanded by the CUT partners.

The guidelines developed in the CUT project provide orientation in the complex field of data governance. They form the basis for a detailed examination of specific areas of action and are the starting point for formulating recommendations and documenting best practices.

Guide to Model Land is a practical ethics guide for the use of digital simulation models in urban development. It helps local authorities to identify ethical issues at an early stage, weigh them up, and integrate them responsibly into planning processes.

The guidance for tenders in the context of Urban Digital Twins is based on the perspectives and experiences gained from tenders within the framework of the geodata infrastructure (GDI) and the Urban Data Platform.

Citizen-generated data reflects the reality of local life and provides insights for public welfare-oriented urban development. In order to make this data usable in the long term, it must be linked to other urban data. The aim of the guidelines is to highlight the potential of this data.

The questionnaire for identifying use cases helps cities to plan Smart
City Projects in a targeted manner. In five modules, it guides users
through key topics and provides specific guiding questions for discussions with experts in various fields – for the structured clarification of requirements and the development of a product vision.

In the Hamburg real-world laboratory, prototype real-world experiments are being used to develop digital tools for citizen participation, process modeling, and scenario simulation. These tools promote sustainable urban development and are incorporated directly into the Hamburg Digital Twin.

The replication blueprint from Connected Urban Twins provides a
structured overview of key project results and implementation steps.
It supports other cities and municipalities in systematically planning
their own projects in the field of Urban Data Platforms and Digital
Twins.

The technical article “Urban Digital Twins as a Modular System: A Concept from the Connected Urban Twins (CUT) Project” in the Journal of Surveying (1/2023, in German language) presents the theoretical concept of urban digital twins developed in the CUT project, as well as technical, legal, and organizational aspects and the necessary digital resources.

The information on the CUT website supports knowledge transfer with
compact background knowledge, links, and reading tips. It shows the
starting point and framework conditions of the CUT solutions and
serves as a guide for municipalities, experts, and smart city managers.