What if you could simulate the impact of new square designs, road networks, urban heat or flooding in an interactive 3D environment? Drawing on Interreg North-West Europe project Twin4Resilience, Catalin Turlica, Project Coordinator at City of Brussels, will present how digital twins could make it possible. By analysing different scenarios and combining data with local specificities, digital twins help identify the best solutions for territorial planning. Co-developed by 14 organisations and tested across 8 pilots in North-West Europe, the T4R project helps cities and regions take the next step in using local digital twins for a more sustainable, resilient and inclusive territorial planning.
- Civil protection and risk prevention | Climate and environment | Cohesion | Digital and ICT | EU/ European | Housing | INTERREG | Local and regional | Research and Innovation | Sustainable | Territorial | Urban
- Code: 12TK264160
- Jacques Delors building, JDE 60, Rue Belliard 99/101, Brussels, Belgium
Speaker
Practical information
- When
-
Mon 12/10/2026, 09:30 - 10:00 CET
- Where
- Jacques Delors building, JDE 60, Rue Belliard 99/101, Brussels, Belgium
- Type of partnership
- Partnership
- Format
- EURegionsTalk
- Theme
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Strong regions, strong Europe
- Language
- English
Reporting
Session summary
The presentation highlighted how the City of Brussels is using Local Digital Twins to address climate change challenges, particularly urban heat islands and increasingly intense heatwaves. Through the Interreg North-West Europe Twin4Resilience project, Brussels is developing a digital tool that combines environmental, geographical and sensor data to identify areas affected by extreme heat, assess possible solutions and support better urban planning decisions. The project follows a progressive approach, starting with practical applications such as heat mapping, identifying cooling areas and simulating the impact of mitigation measures, with further developments planned in the coming years. The presentation also emphasised that successful digital twins require more than technology, highlighting the importance of data quality, collaboration among partners, good governance and understanding users’ needs. Overall, the Brussels experience demonstrates how digital twins can help cities make more informed decisions, strengthen climate resilience and improve citizens’ quality of life, while offering valuable lessons for other cities interested in developing similar solutions.
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