Smart City Governance Models

🚨 Now available (open access) on SSRN 📄 Cities and Digital Twins: The Importance of Data Governance and Collaboration (✍️ with Begoña Glez. Otero). 🤔 Digital twins are often presented as dazzling 3D models of our cities. But behind the glossy visuals lies the real question: what makes them useful, trustworthy, and sustainable? ➡️ Our paper argues that the answer lies less in technology and more in data governance and collaboration. Drawing lessons from initiatives like Virtual Singapore, Helsinki’s Climate Atlas, Bologna’s Civic Digital Twin, and Europe’s Destination Earth, we show that the real challenge is enabling data to flow responsibly across boundaries. ➡️ We introduce the 4Ps Framework — Purpose, Principles, Processes, and Practices — as a pragmatic way to anchor digital twins in rights-based governance. This means treating digital twins not just as technical artifacts, but as living data collaboratives that foster openness, fairness, accountability, and shared purpose. 🌍 The next generation of digital twins will succeed only if they are built as governance infrastructures that empower communities and serve public value. 👉 Read the full open-access paper here: https://lnkd.in/etQfKtFM #DataGovernance #DigitalTwins #SmartCities #Collaboration #UrbanInnovation #AIlocalism #DigitalSelfDetermination

San Francisco (CA), Austin (TX), and Washington D.C. represent three phases of AV implementation and distinct governance structures. Here’s what I learned from conversations with three city leaders about their on-the-ground experiences. Cities are learning how to govern technologies they do not authorize, can’t fully monitor, and yet must manage every day. 🚦 Austin, Texas with Rachel C. State law forbids cities from regulating AVs —yet Austin created an AV Safety Working Group that unites police, fire, EMS, and transportation officials to coordinate emergency response and document incidents. Without legal power, they’ve built influence through preparation, data tracking, and “expectation” with companies. 🚕 San Francisco with Tilly Chang The city that learned from the very beginning of AV development. San Francisco proposed a Safety-Focused AV Permitting Framework. This framework promotes incremental, data-driven, and performance-based deployments to mitigate risk and enhance transparency. SF also implemented a Prop D Ridehail Tax (3.25% fee) on solo TNC/AV trips to fund Muni transit operations and street safety projects. The city permitted Waymo to operate on car-free Market Street to support downtown economic recovery. Cities have little sticks but some carrots. 🏛️ Washington D.C. with Stephanie Dock, Acting as both state and city, D.C. DOT holds theoretical authority while faces unmatched complexity: 29 law enforcement agencies, frequent unannounced motorcades, and tri-state regional coordination with Maryland and Virginia. It has upcoming AV Monitoring Zone Pilot and Deployment Report. Logistical Barrier: limited industrial land for AV depots and charging facilities risks pushing these operations into Maryland and Virginia, increasing empty VMT traveling back into the city. Across these cities, three patterns emerge: 1️⃣ A deep data gap: AV technology is supposed to provide abundant data, enabling the modern smart transportation operating system. Yet cities face difficulties accessing the basic metrics. 2️⃣ Persistent first responder challenges: AVs do not read human cues, creating risks for emergency scenarios. 3️⃣ Severe capacity constraints: cities need sustained funding and technical staff to govern automation. 👉 Read my article to explore how three cities—San Francisco, Austin, and D.C.—are experimenting the rules of AV.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲? 𝗕𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘅... City governments worldwide are investing in digital traformation projects, but are they creating real, measurable public value? Not always. To explore this further, I came across an interesting study published in Technological Forecasting and Social Change. This study shows how different government capabilities shape the success of smart city initiatives by looking at 143 projects in Spanish municipalities. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀... 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 While collaboration is often seen as the key to successful smart city initiatives, the impact depends on who governments collaborate with and how they structure those relationships. 𝗖𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮 𝗴𝗮𝗺𝗲-𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 Cities that combine innovation-oriented internal management with strong citizen collaboration achieve the highest levels of public value—improving efficiency, service effectiveness, and societal outcomes. Citizens are not just end-users; they can be active co-creators of urban innovation when engaged meaningfully. 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 Governments that work closely with technology providers—beyond simple contracting—tend to achieve better results. When managed well, these partnerships drive smarter procurement, better service delivery, and more sustainable innovation. 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 Interestingly, projects that focused primarily on working with academic experts or other government entities did not show significant improvements in public value. While knowledge-sharing is crucial, it must be paired with action-driven strategies to create tangible benefits for citizens. 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀. Instead, 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝘅 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀 to turn innovation into real public value. Finding the right balance is key #PublicValue #UrbanInnovation #SmartCityGovernance #DigitalTransformation #InnovationManagement #ResponsibleInnovation #GovernmentCapabilities Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh Napier Research, Innovation and Enterprise, Unity Lab / Urban Innovation Policy Lab, TalTech – Tallinn University of Technology, FinEst Centre for Smart Cities

Is Your City Digital Twin Built on Sand? 😮 Digital Twins promise transformation, but mastering their data is key. High project failure rates (around 80%) and staggering costs of poor data quality always stem from weak governance and data silos. The Fix? 1️⃣Proactive governance and architecture. Look at Hamburg: Every city department must adhere to (by law) strict open-source data quality standards, feeding into a single source of truth. This tackles silos. For this, set up a Master Data Management (MDM) solution or Data Hubs within the city, accompanied by well-defined governance frameworks. Beyond governance, interoperability and security are critical... The Fix? 2️⃣Adopt standards (ISO 23247, OPC UA, standardised APIs) for seamless data exchange. 3️⃣Address security threats: Did you know that 98% of your IoT traffic is not encrypted? Implement end-to-end encryption and adopt Zero Trust frameworks. You want to realize the potential of Digital Twin technology fully?🌍 4️⃣Establish standardized interoperability. 5️⃣ Ensure that all city departments collaborate. 6️⃣ Require all departments to share data in a unified source of truth. This is only the first step in your framework for building a city digital twin. #smartcity --------- Follow Me for #digitaltwins Links in My Profile Florian Huemer

🇸🇬 ⏩ 🐻 Co-Developing Trust: What Singapore’s AI Governance Model Means for California I had the pleasure of hosting Hubert Han, Singapore’s first and only "tech diplomat," at University of California, Berkeley, Goldman School of Public Policy last week. His insights offered a fascinating look at the lessons Singapore’s AI governance model holds for California. It’s worth noting: Singapore’s engagement with AI began quite early, with their first governance framework released back in 2019. Since then, they’ve continually built upon it, leading to the National AI Strategy 2.0, the LLM project Sealion, and what some are calling the “Singapore Consensus.” It’s a journey focused on balancing strong #accountability with a continued commitment to #innovation. Here are three aspects of their strategy that might spark some ideas here in California: 🤝 1. 'Everyone at the Table': Consensus as an Accelerator Rather than relying on a top-down approach, Singapore leverages a structured, #publicprivatepartnership model to co-develop its governance. By ensuring global tech leaders, local academics, and industry voices are deeply embedded in the drafting process, they aim to guarantee the resulting frameworks are both technologically feasible and immediately #implementable -- key word on “implementable” -- too many nice-sounding AI frameworks end up just collecting “cyber dust”. 🔧 2. 'Give Them a Tool, Not Just a Rule': The Power of Guidance Singapore appears to recognize that simply telling a company to be "responsible" isn't enough. That’s why, alongside their #voluntary Model AI Governance Framework, they rolled out a #practical assurance tool called AI Verify (https://lnkd.in/gdsh8TvB). Companies can use this open-source toolkit to test their own AI models for things like fairness and robustness. Providing a common, verifiable 'how-to' guide like this seems to accelerate ethical adoption far more effectively. 🍽️ 3. 'Eat Your Own Dog Food': The Practice of Smarter Rules Soon after ChatGPT's arrival, the Singapore government prioritized giving public servants access to secure, internal LLMs. The idea is that you can't effectively govern a technology without deeply understanding its strengths and weaknesses through #direct use. This "use it before you govern it" approach leads to a more practical, experience-based policy, grounded in real-world application. The Final Takeaway for California’s Next Chapter As #California continues its essential work leading with smart, targeted legislation into 2026, Singapore’s emphasis on practical tools and deep public-private collaboration offers a powerful view of a government deliberately building capacity for trust. The question for California is to figure out how best to integrate these strategies to ensure our state remains the definitive global leader in both AI #innovation and #smartgovernance. p.s. great to be on Cal campus on a beautiful autumn day!