Heerlen develops digital twin to enhance livability and safety

The grant application in the European Urban Initiative (EUI) program of the municipality of Heerlen has been approved. This means that the municipality has been awarded 5 million euros to increase the liveability and safety in Heerlen with a so-called 'Social Digital Twin'. Winning the grant may be seen as an achievement; there were 110 applications from 23 EU countries. Heerlen is among the 20 finally selected and obtains the highest possible amount of subsidy. The theme of the application was deep tech. The municipality is cooperating with numerous partners in the region for this project. 

Last October, Heerlen applied for a grant from the European Urban Initiative (EUI) to experiment with AI technology. Part of this is to develop a 'Social Digital Twin' that is able to better (digitally) visualize available information to help make important decisions in improving livability and safety in neighborhoods in Heerlen. The uniqueness lies in the fact that no city in the EU yet has a 'Social Digital Twin'. Physical digital twins do exist, but the 'Social Digital Twin' is the first in Europe.

Smart and appropriate handling of security

The 'Social Digital Twin' enables a smarter and more adequate response to safety and livability in neighborhoods in Heerlen. An AI assistant becomes the supporting 'deep tech colleague' of the people who are already working on safety and quality of life in Heerlen on a daily basis. The 'Social Digital Twin' will in fact be a virtual digital copy of all the information available on a neighborhood, but then combined with information on social safety and neighborhood management. This way AI can be used to quickly and adequately ask questions and provide employees with advice, analysis and a possible plan or solution.

Mayor Roel Wever is very pleased with winning the grant: "This works quickly and efficiently. No 'Big Brother is watching you,' but working with a legitimate basis. Because this allows you to anticipate at an early stage, you can take into account planning, visions and everyday issues in the field of safety and livability. But residents and other stakeholders can also be properly informed what their contribution has yielded. Thus the 'Social Digital Twin' promotes trust and cooperation, and thus social cohesion and livability. And of course I am very pleased that we are doing this together with so many important partners, who all contribute their expertise to make this a success."

Cooperation in the region

In the coming months, each selected project will have a dedicated web page with information on its implementation and key learning points recorded by experts in the field of innovative actions. Led by the municipality, the initiation phase started April 1 with the partners. Together with the lead experts, everything will be well prepared until Oct. 1 to then start the implementation and step-by-step development of the "Social Digital Twin. The project will end on March 31, 2029.

The municipality's partners in the project are:

  • Police, Innovation Lab (Ilab)
  • Maastricht University - BISS
  • JENS
  • Dutch CPTED Chapter / Foundation for Safe Design and Management (SVOB).
  • Brightlands Smart Services Campus
  • Heerlen Buurtteams