In the past, urban planning relied heavily on maps, models, and projections. Today, cities are embracing a more powerful tool, one that doesn’t just represent the physical world but mirrors it in real time. This tool is the digital twin, a dynamic, data-driven replica of the city that allows planners, engineers, and policymakers to simulate, analyze, and predict urban behavior before it unfolds in the real world. Digital twins are rapidly becoming the nervous system of smart cities, transforming how we design, manage, and experience…
Cities have always reflected human behavior, our needs, routines, and ambitions are written into their streets and skylines. But what if cities could do more than reflect us? What if they could learn from us? The emerging field of cognitive urbanism explores this question, envisioning cities as adaptive systems that evolve through continuous interaction with their inhabitants. Fueled by artificial intelligence, data analytics, and behavioral science, this approach is redefining the relationship between humans and the urban environment. Cognitive urbanism sees the city not as…
The promise of a smart city is not only about technology, it’s about people. For a city to be truly intelligent, it must also be inclusive. Accessibility has traditionally been treated as a secondary concern, often addressed through infrastructure design rather than digital innovation. But artificial intelligence is changing that. Through the power of data, pattern recognition, and adaptive systems, AI is helping to create urban environments that respond to the needs of everyone, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups. Accessibility…
Water is one of the most critical —and increasingly scarce— resources for cities around the world. Urbanization, climate change, and population growth have made it harder to ensure that every drop is used efficiently. Traditional water management systems, based on periodic inspections and static supply models, are no longer sufficient. Today’s cities need infrastructures that can sense, predict, and react. That is precisely what artificial intelligence brings to the field of predictive water management. In a conventional system, leaks or pressure losses are often detected…
In the rapidly evolving landscape of urban development, the concept of the "Smart City" is no longer a distant ideal, but an emerging reality shaped by the integration of cutting-edge technologies—chief among them, artificial intelligence (AI). As the world’s urban population continues to rise, the pressure to rethink city infrastructure, resource management, mobility, public services, and sustainability has never been more critical. In this context, AI emerges not merely as a technological tool, but as the cognitive framework that can enable cities to become truly…
In Comiso, in the province of Ragusa, a new model of intelligent photovoltaic greenhouse, christened Archimede, represents a turning point not only for protected cultivation but also for the broader debate on how artificial intelligence, renewable energy and urban planning can converge in the construction of sustainable and resilient smart cities. The Archimede Greenhouse combines solar energy production and sustainable agriculture within a single architectural and functional system, modulating light to favour photosynthesis and improve crop quality without reducing agricultural productivity. Seen in isolation, it…
Although the rapid expansion of urban areas is one of the most significant threats to global biodiversity, the presence of nature within cities remains a critical component for human well-being and urban resilience. Urban green spaces offer essential ecosystem services, such as temperature regulation, flood prevention, air purification, and psychological benefits associated with access to natural environments. However, these advantages are not equitably distributed across the urban population. The phenomenon known as the luxury effect—which describes the correlation between neighborhood affluence and the richness…
