Citywide metaverses: The future of digital citizenry

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  Quantumrun Foresight
• August 15, 2022

Insight summary

Citywide metaverses transform cities by creating digital twins, enhancing virtual experiences in commerce, tourism, and work, while also aiding in urban planning and decision-making. These digital worlds offer benefits like improved efficiency, reduced carbon emissions, and new job opportunities, but raise concerns about energy consumption and privacy. Collaboration among stakeholders is crucial to ensure these virtual environments promote equality, sustainability, and overall well-being.

Citywide metaverses context

Creating citywide metaverses involves building digital twins of cities that mimic not just their real-world physical qualities but also the transactions and activities that occur inside them. This digital duplication involves building and applying technologies and computing capabilities that support virtual commerce, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) services and entertainment, and digital workspaces. For example, e-commerce may be built around blockchain communities using cryptocurrencies, potentially increasing transparency in digital transactions and anonymity.

Physical travel may be replaced in some cases by online experiences, such as virtual concerts, virtual museums, and touring places using VR/AR. The convergence of VR/AR and the Internet of Things (IoT) will allow for realistic virtual simulations that can help with strategy- and decision-making. For example, the European Space Agency (ESA) is building a digital twin of the Earth to understand the increasing impacts of human activity, including simulating different scenarios that can help policymakers create better regulations.

Other sectors also benefit from citywide metaverses, such as manufacturing and supply chains, which may use digital simulations of their operations to identify opportunities to work more efficiently and lower their carbon emissions. Likewise, citywide metaverses can further support energy conservation initiatives, as digital twins can reduce unnecessary municipal construction activities and building operations, which contribute to 28 percent of global carbon emissions.

Disruptive impact

Seoul is a prime example of how smart cities are building metaverses and digital twins. As of 2022, the “Metaverse Seoul” ecosystem began development, and users can create avatars and explore a virtual recreation of the mayor’s office. The long-term vision for Metaverse Seoul is to incorporate support for business development and education services, and to consolidate and provide support for city services, including filing complaints, inquiring about real estate, and filing taxes. The platform will also allow the city to simplify and easily expand services that leverage 3D digital twins to improve public infrastructure, report fires, and enhance access to local security footage.

Meanwhile, Shanghai has used digital twins in many urban management applications, such as residential complex management amid COVID-19 control. The “digital twin” concept has also been applied to Shanghai’s transport system, historic landmarks, and university campus. For example, the Shanghai Public Security Bureau used a digital twin to build an advanced transport system where detailed information about traffic lights and flows, emergency support, and road updates can be accessed anytime. The system is now running and supervising the city’s entire transport lines. Its digital sensors reach the smallest traffic units, which can help manage traffic during peak times. In addition, citywide, about 2,300 accident danger spots have been put under the digital system’s monitoring, as well as 3,400 roads near water danger.

Overall, citywide metaverses offer a variety of potential benefits for cities and their residents, including reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions, promoting social sustainability, and facilitating business innovation. However, there are also some concerns about energy use and carbon emissions due to recent increases in compute-intensive transactions. To maximize the benefits of citywide metaverses while minimizing their environmental impact, it is vital that stakeholders—including businesses—collaborate to build digital worlds that promote equality, sustainability, and well-being for all.

Implications of citywide metaverses

Wider implications of citywide metaverses may include: 

• Educational portals in the metaverse, offering courses from universities and research centers, enabling accessible global learning.
• Virtual tourism platforms emerging, showcasing a city's cultural and historical landmarks, boosting global interest and understanding of different cultures without physical travel.
• Work environments in the metaverse evolving, with avatars enabling remote collaboration and team-building activities, reducing the need for physical office spaces and commuting.
• The establishment of a centralized AI public servant in the metaverse streamlining city service delivery, enhancing efficiency and citizen engagement in governmental processes.
• Metaverse integration of digital twins for critical infrastructure like water and power facilities allowing for more effective maintenance and future urban planning, reducing downtime and improving service quality.
• The availability of virtual cityscapes leading to new forms of real estate development and management, transforming how people invest in and interact with urban spaces.
• Metaverse-based healthcare services, including virtual consultations and therapy sessions, will make healthcare more accessible, especially for remote and underserved populations.
• Enhanced citywide connectivity in the metaverse requiring upgrades in cybersecurity measures.
• Metaverse platforms creating new job opportunities in virtual event planning, avatar design, and digital infrastructure.

Questions to consider

• How do you think you might use or engage with your city’s future metaverse?
• What are the other potential advantages and challenges of city digital twins?