Experimentation Evaluation Toolkit
The Experimentation Evaluation Toolkit is used to examine changes in the urban space. It provides urban developers with 20 metrics that bring together analyses of a range of sites and pilots.
The toolkit provides ways to collect data and instructions on what kind of information can be collected with each metric. It also explains how and why a particular metric is used and how data can be collected either digitally or on-site.
The toolkit can be used by anyone working with urban space innovation.
Metrics for Urban Space Experimentation
The Experimentation Evaluation Toolkit metrics were tested between April and August 2022 in combination with a placemaking experiment on the Ylä-Malmi square to model the future renovation of the square. Placemaking is a way of thinking that guides the design and development of the urban environment in which development work is carried out with the area’s users.
In the pilot, the square and the temporary green oases and other street furniture were examined using 15 metrics. The metrics were selected on the basis of how well they fit with the City of Helsinki’s strategy and how well they could be used during the summer period. Data was collected on the use of urban space before, during and after the piloting period. Placemaking activities such as events, in particular, attracted people to spend time at the location.
Urban Digital Twin
Urban planning and construction professions are widely using 3D models as a basis for information management. Building information modeling software technologies provide means for managing and automating the handling of vast datasets and transforming them into easily understandable 3D forms. As there is a vast number of data and 3D model sources needed to model the urban environment, it is vital for an urban digital twin, that the underlying software can manage and process a wide range of data sources.
The development of the urban digital twin started in Kalasatama, the Helsinki Smart City District, in 2018, with the aim of producing high quality digital twin city models of the area and sharing the models as open data. The models serve as a platform for designing, testing, applying and servicing the entire lifecycle of the built environment. The effective use of urban digital twins is not only a technological question but it also means that workflows and decision making processes need to be reshaped.
In Kalasatama, digital twins were produced with the latest modelling technologies and applications as a CityGML standard-based semantic city information model and a reality mesh model. The City GML model contained future buildings (under construction and still in the planning phase), bridges, waterbody and terrain. It was made available also through the CityPlanner platform for the residents, who could explore the area and its features in 3D. The platform was also used for gathering resident feedback, as it could be used in creating questionnaires and gathering location-based information and answers to the 3D-model.
The urban digital twin supports living lab activities in several ways: ideas can be tested, experimented with and demonstrated early with the digital twin. Data can also be collected with the twin and exported for various purposes, such as to support the development of new services.
Fast data access through 5G networks, urban model updating through robotics and extended reality and virtual multi-user solutions provided by video game industry tools are integral parts of the urban digital twins of the future.
Urban digital twin of natural environment
During recent years, one of the focus areas for developing the digital twin of Kalasatama has been environmental modelling of urban areas in order to support the climate goals of the city. Creating an urban digital twin of the natural environment is, however, more complex than modelling things like buildings as nature changes throughout seasons and years. When modelling natural environments, the focus is therefore on growth patterns, weather simulations and qualities of different species instead of static objects.
Hermanninranta is a neighbourhood in northern Kalasatama that will provide housing and services for 5,000 residents. The area, located by the sea, contains a ruderate area that is prone to flooding. From the very beginning, the focus in urban planning has been on maximising green infrastructure in Hermanninranta and finding ways to integrate nature-based solutions into the plans. Developing an urban digital twin of the area supports these wider goals.
As part of the B.Green project, new green infrastructure and plant life models are experimented with and tested together with the more commonly used building and infrastructure 3D models in Hermanninranta. One of the aims is to integrate the use of urban digital twins into decision-making processes by, for example, showcasing future plans with visualisation tools from the video game industry which have great potential in modelling green infrastructure and visualising the direct and indirect ecosystem values it can produce on a larger scale. Dynamic 3D modelling also presents new possibilities for interaction and communication between professionals from different fields, as well as between experts and citizens. The B.Green project facilitates pilots and experiments in Kalasatama to utilise the urban digital twin for collecting and visualising hyperlocal environmental data as well as demonstrating future plans of the entire Kalasatama district for the residents in an easily understandable way.
