Lille Metropole takes part in the Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) training program

In November, two members of Lille Metropole’s digital development team took part in the Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) training program. The in-person training took place in Barcelona on 7-8 November 2024, with participants from 15 cities/metropoles, each with two representatives: one technical specialist, and one policymaker-like profile. Lille Metropole successfully applied to take part in this training, and sent Rémi MONTORIO (Project Management Assistance and Contracting Department) and Louis MACQUET (Digital Department) to Barcelona for this program.  

The program consisted of four main learning objectives:

- Gaining a solid foundation in the concepts, potential, and applications of digital twins for urban decision-making.

- Understand the technical aspects of UDTs, including data infrastructure, integration, and legal considerations such as GDPR compliance and procurement.

- Enhance the ability to use UDT insights for evidence-based urban planning and decision-making.

- Applying the above knowledge into each city’s local context, challenges and needs.

These 3 days were a unique opportunity to reflect on the contribution of digital technology and data to meeting the strategic and technical challenges facing cities.

The Eurocities Academy session went into more detail on the Territorial Digital Twin, bringing together cities such as Riga, Tampere, Barcelona and Reykjavik to discuss architectures, use cases and the governance of deployments. It was an opportunity to understand how cities can structure their data and infrastructures through modular digital twins, integrating innovative technologies and sensors to offer intelligent solutions. This event marked the start of the creation of a European community of practice, with participants determined to pool their feedback to move Digital Twin projects forward. Thanks to rich exchanges on strategy, governance and technologies, a clear vision of the future of smart cities is emerging.

The inclusion of users in decision-making processes remains at the heart of initiatives, particularly in the fields of mobility, urban services, climate and urban planning. The development of new transport lines, the management of heat islands, and the analysis of urban projects in consultation with citizens are among the key use cases. The creation of more sustainable cities, such as the ‘quarter-hour city’, is a direct response to contemporary urban challenges.

The opportunity to take part in this Eurocities-supported event will enable Lille Metropole to continue its journey towards intelligent, sustainable and inclusive territories in an informed and collaborative manner.

Following this training program, Lille Metropole’s agents also took part in the Barcelona World Expo Congress. This event was also an opportunity to take part in numerous debates and discussions focused on change management, governance and digital sobriety. Until next year !