The German municipality of Hofbieber is working with Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division to create an urban digital twin that will monitor the town’s progress toward reaching carbon neutrality by 2030.
The digital twin uses environmental data to replicate the physical municipality, with 3D simulations ranging from C02 emissions to heat disbursement and flooding risks.
Mainly larger cities use digital twins for environmental modelling and planning, but the leadership of 6,300-resident Hofbieber — about 100 kilometers northeast of Frankfurt — hopes to set an example for small towns working against climate change.
In addition to reaching climate goals, Hofbieber could see higher property values, lower insurance rates and increased economic development and tourism because of environmental and urban management made possible by digital twin modelling.
“The aim of the municipality of Hofbieber is to achieve climate neutrality by 2030, and the digital twin is an integral part of making the municipality ready for the future,” said Mayor Markus Röder.
By tracking its CO2 emissions with a digital twin, Hofbieber can monitor and compare its progress to other municipalities. The digital twin can also be programmed going forward to simulate flooding risks, heat islands, wind pathways, traffic and more for the municipality.
Other larger cities where Hexagon has created digital twins include Klagenfurt and Villach in Austria and Kanton Zug in Switzerland. The smaller footprint of Hofbieber – 87 square kilometers — allowed Hexagon to create a digital twin for the first time using aerial images obtained using drone flights rather than traditional aerial photography.
“It’s not only large cities that can take advantage of digital twin technology,” said Maximilian Weber, senior vice president, EMEA, for Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division. “Hexagon is proud to help cities of all sizes create a more sustainable environment and meet their climate change goals with our groundbreaking solutions.”
The digital twin work is being done in cooperation with KC Becker, one of Hexagon’s local partners for municipality work. Hofbieber is a longtime user of Hexagon’s GeoMedia Smart Client solution for mapping and geographic information systems workflows.
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