İzmir Vision Scenario Lab Urban AI, Digital Twins, and Democracy

A few days ago, I received an email with this subject line; I was already following the process, so I was pleased to see it. My pleasure is actually about rethinking cities through the perspective of democracy and artificial intelligence.

Actually, you could have found this news by browsing the internet. However, given the purpose of my website, it is important that these current events are discussed in academic lectures and serve subject matter for theses, articles etc..

Let's get to the topic!

In İzmir’s long-term future planning -that is, for 2074- the transformation of digital twins and AI-powered city models into participatory tools is on the agenda.

In here planning is not just a closed-off tool used by experts and technical institutions. It also creates a space where citizens can understand, question, and participate in decision-making processes about the future.

The Izmir Planning Agency and Play the City are developing a platform called the Vision 2074 Scenario Lab. The platform, pioneered by expert Dr. Ekim Tan, will facilitate discussions on how Izmir might transform over the next 50 years in areas such as housing, water, agriculture, transportation, ecology, disaster resilience, migration, and public spaces.

There is a deeper experience here than a classic strategic plan. Here, citizens discuss different scenarios, priorities, and conflicting interests in a gamified/participatory environment; local knowledge is incorporated into planning processes; and artificial intelligence is used not as a decision-making authority but as a tool to support collective thinking. 

Here, of course, we see a turning point: municipalities are turning away from traditional models of participation in local democracy toward more dynamic and different models ....at least that’s the case in Izmir.

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Some topics where we can examine such a recent experience from an academic perspective include:

Examining it as a serious game/scenario laboratory

Examining it as a political-economic critique of the digital twin

Examining it as an impact assessment 

For more details, you can refer to the following sources:

https://vizyon2074izmir.gamesforcities.com/home/

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/need-participatory-digital-twins-izmirs-vizyon-2074-who-ekim-tan-phd-bnn1e/?trackingId=7hNNRpgYSey%2F3iII2lZkgg%3D%3D 

https://www.playthecity.eu/https://www.playthecity.eu/