Digital twins and AI for healthy and sustainable cities

IF 7.1 1区地球科学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES

Computers Environment and Urban Systems Pub Date : 2025-05-12 DOI:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2025.102305

Mark Birkin , Patrick Ballantyne , Seth Bullock , Alison Heppenstall , Heeseo Kwon , Nick Malleson , Jing Yao , Anna Zanchetta

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Abstract

The paper discusses the relevance of the latest advances in data science and artificial intelligence for urban systems research. It has a particular focus on the importance of recent innovations in the context of ‘wicked’ urban problems which continue to confront decision-makers within practical policy settings. It is argued that the latest advances in AI such as large language models offer the potential for transformative research, but only if properly specified within the unique and distinctive context of geographical space. The idea of a digital twin requires careful articulation to support the management of expectations and appropriate alignment within a social setting. At the end of the day, AI is not a panacea for the problems of cities, nor is it a substitute for imaginative policy design or interventions through consensus and good government. However in a world which is characterised by vast riches of data alongside enormous complexity of process, the investment in new tools and methods is a social and intellectual imperative in driving human understanding to new levels.

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数字孪生和人工智能为健康和可持续发展的城市服务

本文讨论了数据科学和人工智能的最新进展与城市系统研究的相关性。它特别关注最近创新在“邪恶”城市问题背景下的重要性，这些问题在实际政策设置中继续面临决策者。有人认为，人工智能的最新进展，如大型语言模型，为变革性研究提供了潜力，但前提是在地理空间的独特和独特背景下适当指定。数字孪生的概念需要仔细表述，以支持期望管理和社会环境中的适当协调。归根结底，人工智能不是解决城市问题的灵丹妙药，也不能替代富有想象力的政策设计或通过共识和良好政府进行干预。然而，在一个以海量数据和极其复杂的过程为特征的世界里，对新工具和新方法的投资是推动人类理解达到新水平的社会和智力要求。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Computers Environment and Urban Systems Multiple-

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

7.40%

发文量

111

审稿时长

32 days

期刊介绍： Computers, Environment and Urban Systemsis an interdisciplinary journal publishing cutting-edge and innovative computer-based research on environmental and urban systems, that privileges the geospatial perspective. The journal welcomes original high quality scholarship of a theoretical, applied or technological nature, and provides a stimulating presentation of perspectives, research developments, overviews of important new technologies and uses of major computational, information-based, and visualization innovations. Applied and theoretical contributions demonstrate the scope of computer-based analysis fostering a better understanding of environmental and urban systems, their spatial scope and their dynamics.