![A streetscape in bright digital colors](/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/styles/hwp_21_9__1920x825/public/2026-10/Untitled%20Design%20%2822%29.png?itok=VUs5wgc3) 

 



 

#  How Digital Twins Drive Responsive, Well-Managed Cities 

 





Digital twins, data-driven virtual representations of a city's existing and proposed places, assets, and systems, now offer city officials enhanced opportunities to improve governance, operations, and collaboration.



 

October 19, 2026

 

 

 [ Stephen Goldsmith ](/stephen-goldsmith) 

In The Ville, a historically Black neighborhood in north St. Louis, Missouri, residents have repeatedly faced unfulfilled redevelopment promises. Polished but generic renderings would appear at community meetings, yet the neighborhoods they depicted never materialized. The St. Louis Development Corporation took a different approach, blending community engagement with an interactive 3D digital twin simulating the neighborhood’s prospective futures. Prior to any technical development, the Corporation collaborated with a local heritage group to understand community priorities. From this work, the Corporation developed the 3D twin and invited residents to explore, challenge, and mark up the model. When neighbors worried that a proposed advanced manufacturing center would dwarf their houses, they used the virtual technology to visualize the building on their own street, at true scale. This shifted the dialogue from outright opposition to constructive discussions about traffic management and architectural design.

## What Is a Digital Twin?

A digital twin is less a product than a process built on the connective tissue of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). According to Christine Ma, digital twin strategy leader with the GIS software company Esri, “Digital twins are not a single technology or a fixed destination. They are a maturity journey in which organizations progress from understanding and describing their assets, to combining data for shared situational awareness, to predicting outcomes through simulation and analytics.”

Digital twins can be a bridge between fragmented data systems. Tagging permits, potholes, parcels, bus stops, and emergency calls by location lets officials connect decisions across departments to reveal fresh insights. Jim Alberque, director of the digital twin program in Raleigh, North Carolina, recently told me that geography serves as “the integration language” of the enterprise.

As officials make decisions, they should ask whether they have presented all relevant data in the manner most likely to produce insights. In this sense, a digital twin is not a technology or even a model but a foundation for interdependent, place-based decisions. Critically, organizations can create value at every stage of the maturity journey Ma describes, whether improving visibility among departments, supporting more coordinated operations, or testing decisions in advance. As my colleague Juncheng “Tony” Yang argued, [digital twinning is not a finished product but a staged, networked capability](/city-digital-twinning-step-step-process "City Digital Twinning: A Step-by-Step Process ").

[**Download and continue reading "****How Digital Twins Drive Responsive, Well-Managed Cities" here**](https://datasmart.hks.harvard.edu/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/2026-10/Digital%20Twin%20Paper.DIGITAL%2010.19.pdf)**.**



 

 

 

##  About the Author 

### Stephen Goldsmith 

   ![Headshot of Stephen Goldsmith](/sites/g/files/omnuum10826/files/styles/hwp_1_1__100x100_scale/public/datasmart/files/goldsmith_headshot_2018.jpg?itok=_stVEJro) 

 

Stephen Goldsmith is the Derek Bok Professor of the Practice of Urban Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and the director of Data-Smart City Solutions at the Bloomberg Center for Cities at Harvard University. He previously served as the mayor of Indianapolis and deputy major of New York City.

[Read Professor Goldsmith's full bio here](/stephen-goldsmith).



 

 



 

 See also:- [ Artificial Intelligence ](/topics/artificial-intelligence)
- [ City Administration ](/topics/city-administration)
- [ Civic Data ](/topics/civic-data)
- [ Civic Engagement ](/topics/civic-engagement)
- [ Data Visualization ](/topics/data-visualization)
- [ GIS ](/topics/gis)
- [ Innovation ](/topics/innovation)
- [ Operations ](/topics/operations)
 
 

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