Digital Twin: Why Moscow and Other Cities Need to Develop Their Virtual Copies

The creation of digital twins is one of the key trends in smart city development. They enable more informed and timely management decisions by modeling and analyzing various urban development scenarios. The Moscow Department of Information Technology explained why Moscow can be considered a leader in this field and how digital twins are being used in our capital and other megacities around the world.

For seven years, Moscow’s digital twin has been helping to study, plan, design, and forecast the city’s future. It is an exact 3D replica of the capital in virtual reality, complete with all buildings, structures, utility lines, and transport communications. More than 12 million photographs were taken to create it. These images are updated annually to keep the data current. The digital twin is also supplemented with data on all utility networks and the city’s infrastructure.

Unlike static maps, a digital twin is a dynamic platform, enhanced by over nine thousand analytical layers. Each of these helps to obtain separate information on demographics, ecology, communications, and much more. Digital twins are being created by various megacities around the world, becoming a key trend in the development of smart cities. Moscow, in particular, can be considered a leader in this field.

Design and Urban Development

A 3D digital model of Moscow is used for construction decision-making: placing a future building design on a virtual city map helps to assess its impact on architecture, infrastructure, and transport accessibility. Built-in analytics tools allow for the advance simulation of how a particular development will impact the city. In 2020, this very function helped to decide to reconstruct the Bolshoy Kamenny Bridge without completely closing it to traffic.

The digital twin of Moscow covers all stages of project creation, from planning to commissioning. It also includes the ability to use information modeling technologies to create digital twins of buildings using structured electronic data throughout their entire lifecycle – from concept and design to construction, operation, renovation, and even demolition.

Integrated Territorial Development

Integrated territorial development projects are another area of potential for Moscow’s digital twin. The platform allows for the placement of all future projects on a 3D replica and the development of an entire microdistrict. By switching between layers, one can see how the area looked before and how it will change after construction is completed. Currently, the digital twin is testing the service “Generative Design”, which uses generative AI. It automatically generates integrated territorial development projects in 5-20 seconds, whereas previously such calculations took weeks.

Cultural Heritage Preservation

Digital twins help to make more accurate urban planning and restoration decisions. They allow architects and other experts involved in the development and preservation of the urban environment to see how a building, such as an old mansion or monastery, looked before, assess its current condition, and imagine how it will fit into the capital's modern landscape.

The source: https://www.mos.ru/

The photo: Evgeny Samarin. Mos.ru

27.07.2026

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