Periodic Reporting for period 1 - URBANAGE (Enhanced URBAN planning for AGE-friendly cities through disruptive technologies)
Período documentado: 2021-02-01 hasta 2022-04-30
Disruptive technologies bear great potential to transform the way public services are delivered. Their advantages are quite clear in some sectors, but less clear or experimented within others, which generates uncertainty and lack of trust. Urban Planning, considering that 75% of the population lives in urban areas, could greatly benefit from using disruptive technologies.
It requires a dynamic multidisciplinary analysis of interrelated and complex phenomena and involves decision-making processes engaging multiple stakeholders in complex governance settings: multi-level public authorities (including politicians and civil servants), civil society, private sector, third sector, etc. Such decisions should be evidence-based, reliant on dynamic multi-source data, and their results continuously evaluated to correct unwanted impacts. This is not yet the prevalent paradigm and there is still enormous untapped potential in the use of disruptive technologies to support evidence-based decision-making processes in the urban planning field. Advanced multidimensional analysis and visualization through Urban Digital twins integrated with Big Data analytics and AI algorithms for alternative scenario modelling could be a ground-breaking step to better tackle the complexity of urban systems. However, introducing advanced digital decision support systems bears the risk of generating distrust from urban planners working in public authorities, whose current practice is still in most cases traditional and analogic. Employees are usually reluctant to change the way they work, so their engagement in the definition of the tools becomes critical to ensure acceptance.
Moreover, when using disruptive technologies there is a risk of excluding some parts of the population. Older adults, for example, are less digitally literate but represent a large part of the population in today’s European aging cities. It is, therefore, of crucial importance to engage them in the decision-making process to make sure solutions respond to their needs and capacities.
In this context, URBANAGE contributes to a more inclusive decision-making. It develops an Ecosystem that improves the quality of decision-making on issues related to urban planning for age-friendly cities, by harnessing the collective intelligence of users. For this purpose, URBANAGE aims to provide evidence-based tools for local authorities to guide transformation towards more inclusive cities while exploring how existing engagement tools can be adapted to senior citizens' needs. Moreover, URBANAGE will assess if active engagement has a positive impact on the trust levels observed among older people and public servants concerning data and digital tools, and on the perceived value of technology-assisted urban planning decision-making.
It requires a dynamic multidisciplinary analysis of interrelated and complex phenomena and involves decision-making processes engaging multiple stakeholders in complex governance settings: multi-level public authorities (including politicians and civil servants), civil society, private sector, third sector, etc. Such decisions should be evidence-based, reliant on dynamic multi-source data, and their results continuously evaluated to correct unwanted impacts. This is not yet the prevalent paradigm and there is still enormous untapped potential in the use of disruptive technologies to support evidence-based decision-making processes in the urban planning field. Advanced multidimensional analysis and visualization through Urban Digital twins integrated with Big Data analytics and AI algorithms for alternative scenario modelling could be a ground-breaking step to better tackle the complexity of urban systems. However, introducing advanced digital decision support systems bears the risk of generating distrust from urban planners working in public authorities, whose current practice is still in most cases traditional and analogic. Employees are usually reluctant to change the way they work, so their engagement in the definition of the tools becomes critical to ensure acceptance.
Moreover, when using disruptive technologies there is a risk of excluding some parts of the population. Older adults, for example, are less digitally literate but represent a large part of the population in today’s European aging cities. It is, therefore, of crucial importance to engage them in the decision-making process to make sure solutions respond to their needs and capacities.
In this context, URBANAGE contributes to a more inclusive decision-making. It develops an Ecosystem that improves the quality of decision-making on issues related to urban planning for age-friendly cities, by harnessing the collective intelligence of users. For this purpose, URBANAGE aims to provide evidence-based tools for local authorities to guide transformation towards more inclusive cities while exploring how existing engagement tools can be adapted to senior citizens' needs. Moreover, URBANAGE will assess if active engagement has a positive impact on the trust levels observed among older people and public servants concerning data and digital tools, and on the perceived value of technology-assisted urban planning decision-making.
WP1 Project Management
The URBANAGE governance structure, as well as tools and procedures for effective and agile project management, were established. The Quality Assurance Plan and Data Management Plan were delivered, and continuous monitoring of the project progress was performed through bi-weekly plenary meetings and internal reporting procedures.
WP2 Impact & Acceptance
A roadmap to engage stakeholders was developed as well as a set of recommendations on how to engage older adults in data-driven policymaking practices. Three co-creation workshops (1. Older adults, 2. Civil servants, 3. Mixed session) were organized in each of the 3 pilot sites (9 co-creation sessions) to gather needs, challenges, opportunities, and user requirements from the perspective of both older adults and civil servants. This WP also provided legal and ethical guidance and support and delivered an ethics and legal evaluation of the project use cases at M12. Finally, this WP started the preparation of the roadmap for the evaluation of the impact and the acceptance of the developed solutions from the end-user perspective.
WP3 Data & Intelligence
Provided the initial prototypes for data management and data analysis. In particular, this WP has defined: the Data Management Layer; the processes for data collection, harmonisation, integration and aggregation; some AI-based components (e.g. AI models related to the detection of street commodities for improving older adults’ experience) and the main Big Data components (e.g. tools enabling Descriptive Predictive Prescriptive analyses).
WP4 URBANAGE Digital Twin
URBANAGE Digital Twin structure and the interactions between the different components were identified. Specifically, a first version of the URBANAGE City Information Model (CIM) based on CityGML data model was designed and deployed. An initial set of components for data modelling and mapping, geospatial analysis and data retrieval was designed and developed.
WP5 Ecosystem & Integration
The URBANAGE Ecosystem architecture was designed, and the candidate tools for its implementation were identified. Moreover, the DevOps processes were defined, and the supporting environment and tools were prepared and released. A first prototype of the URBANAGE Ecosystem platform was implemented, leveraging the initial prototypes of the components provided by WPs.
WP6 Use cases
In close cooperation with WP2, through an inclusive co-creation process with older people and civil servants from different municipal departments, the use cases in Santander, Helsinki and Flanders region were defined to explore the potential of Digital Twins, AI and Big Data for day-to-day urban management and service delivery, as well as for long-term urban planning.
WP7 Sustainability & Awareness
An integrated communication and dissemination strategy was defined and implemented, including the project website, 4 Social Media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, SlideShare), communication material. During the first 15 months of the project, the consortium participated in 26 events where URBANAGE was presented and promoted. Moreover, an initial standardisation plan as well as an initial analysis of the URBANAGE exploitable assets, market and competitors were delivered.
WP8 Ethics Requirements
URBANAGE evaluated the ethical issues of its activities and implemented the procedures to be compliant with the relevant legislation on the data subject rights and personal data protection. Finally, URBANAGE analysed the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and made a preliminary assessment of their applicability in the context of the project.
The URBANAGE governance structure, as well as tools and procedures for effective and agile project management, were established. The Quality Assurance Plan and Data Management Plan were delivered, and continuous monitoring of the project progress was performed through bi-weekly plenary meetings and internal reporting procedures.
WP2 Impact & Acceptance
A roadmap to engage stakeholders was developed as well as a set of recommendations on how to engage older adults in data-driven policymaking practices. Three co-creation workshops (1. Older adults, 2. Civil servants, 3. Mixed session) were organized in each of the 3 pilot sites (9 co-creation sessions) to gather needs, challenges, opportunities, and user requirements from the perspective of both older adults and civil servants. This WP also provided legal and ethical guidance and support and delivered an ethics and legal evaluation of the project use cases at M12. Finally, this WP started the preparation of the roadmap for the evaluation of the impact and the acceptance of the developed solutions from the end-user perspective.
WP3 Data & Intelligence
Provided the initial prototypes for data management and data analysis. In particular, this WP has defined: the Data Management Layer; the processes for data collection, harmonisation, integration and aggregation; some AI-based components (e.g. AI models related to the detection of street commodities for improving older adults’ experience) and the main Big Data components (e.g. tools enabling Descriptive Predictive Prescriptive analyses).
WP4 URBANAGE Digital Twin
URBANAGE Digital Twin structure and the interactions between the different components were identified. Specifically, a first version of the URBANAGE City Information Model (CIM) based on CityGML data model was designed and deployed. An initial set of components for data modelling and mapping, geospatial analysis and data retrieval was designed and developed.
WP5 Ecosystem & Integration
The URBANAGE Ecosystem architecture was designed, and the candidate tools for its implementation were identified. Moreover, the DevOps processes were defined, and the supporting environment and tools were prepared and released. A first prototype of the URBANAGE Ecosystem platform was implemented, leveraging the initial prototypes of the components provided by WPs.
WP6 Use cases
In close cooperation with WP2, through an inclusive co-creation process with older people and civil servants from different municipal departments, the use cases in Santander, Helsinki and Flanders region were defined to explore the potential of Digital Twins, AI and Big Data for day-to-day urban management and service delivery, as well as for long-term urban planning.
WP7 Sustainability & Awareness
An integrated communication and dissemination strategy was defined and implemented, including the project website, 4 Social Media accounts (Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, SlideShare), communication material. During the first 15 months of the project, the consortium participated in 26 events where URBANAGE was presented and promoted. Moreover, an initial standardisation plan as well as an initial analysis of the URBANAGE exploitable assets, market and competitors were delivered.
WP8 Ethics Requirements
URBANAGE evaluated the ethical issues of its activities and implemented the procedures to be compliant with the relevant legislation on the data subject rights and personal data protection. Finally, URBANAGE analysed the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and made a preliminary assessment of their applicability in the context of the project.
Most of URBANAGE developments are still under way, nevertheless, the expected results until the end of the project remain.
The URBANAGE Ecosystem is integrating the outputs and lessons from the co-creation processes and use-cases implementation.
Using Big Data analytics, AI algorithms for simulation and urban Digital Twins, URBANAGE is developing two different functionalities to allow for evidence-based decision-making (other options are being also researched):
• A short-term decision-making support for city management (DSS) to guarantee accessibility in the urban environments:
- In Santander an age friendly route planner,
- in Flanders a green urban comfort index,
- in Helsinki an IoT-device for participatory urban planning.
• A long-term decision-making support that will go beyond the existing initiatives:
- in Santander an age-friendly index for neighbourhoods, and a decision-making tool using the Digital Twin,
- in Flanders a service planner for older people,
- in Helsinki a travel-time matrix in the neighbourhoods.
The URBANAGE Ecosystem is integrating the outputs and lessons from the co-creation processes and use-cases implementation.
Using Big Data analytics, AI algorithms for simulation and urban Digital Twins, URBANAGE is developing two different functionalities to allow for evidence-based decision-making (other options are being also researched):
• A short-term decision-making support for city management (DSS) to guarantee accessibility in the urban environments:
- In Santander an age friendly route planner,
- in Flanders a green urban comfort index,
- in Helsinki an IoT-device for participatory urban planning.
• A long-term decision-making support that will go beyond the existing initiatives:
- in Santander an age-friendly index for neighbourhoods, and a decision-making tool using the Digital Twin,
- in Flanders a service planner for older people,
- in Helsinki a travel-time matrix in the neighbourhoods.