2023 Prato – Milan Italy – A Digital Twin Smart City, leveraging Geospatial Intelligence
Bruno Monti, GIS Manager for the city of Milan, will present on how the city uses Geospatial Intelligence to manage its rights-of-way.
A combination of LIDAR surveys from airplanes and trucks, was used to produce a 3D model of city assets and Milan is the first city in Italy to commission a complete survey of its assets, cataloging roads and all above ground features. The model is part of the advanced Geographic Business Management System that the City of Milan uses to analyze needs, to design projects more effectively, to streamline the review and coordination of new construction and rehabilitation projects, and to improve the coordination of public events.
The interest for the project came from the City Manager and his significant request to improve the quality of city services and citizen experiences. He had in mind a geographic dashboard showing daily right-of-way activities, historical events, and planned activities with an easy to use map interface.
But before a dashboard could be provided, the City had to improve permit management.
Initially some permits were paper-based, and some were managed using alphanumeric data systems. The huge quantity of data required to implement a Decision Support System to make daily decisions better aligned to the City strategic goals.
The decision was to do a complete makeover and to implement a full Geographic Business Process Management System. The system covers the entire process, including permit application, and geographic information provided by the applicant drawing on a map or uploading an event in GIS format. The system automates all steps of the review process (internal and external review clearances) and requiring additional information.
We are currently implementing practices to use the 3D data collected through Lidar surveys with GIS and paperless procedures to help us design, and review proposed designs, in 3D, in occupied and vacant spaces.
The purpose is to provide all stakeholders, including design owners, a current picture of the real world, visibly showing all constraints. Having these objects in 3D enables stakeholders to more completely visualize the project, reducing the risk of unexpected conditions and future related project changes.
Looking to the Future:
- Reliable and up-to-date geographic information is valuable and fundamental to lead to better decisions.
- Smart Decision Support Systems, where simulation models are applied to forecast positive and negative impacts are key factors to the primary strategy of the City of Milan of implementing a Smart City Digital Twin.