Track: Enabling Technologies

Urban digital platforms are increasingly being used to navigate the complexity of urban environments, helping cities better understand how they function and evolve. By enabling data-driven decision-making and scenario exploration, these tools support more effective and forward-looking planning. This session explores the role of simulations within these platforms—what they can currently offer, from predictive insights to scenario testing, and what possibilities they open for the future of urban digital systems, while also examining how governments are adopting these tools in practice and the challenges involved in developing, financing, and translating them into meaningful outcomes for urban planning.

AI capabilities continue to evolve, but so do the technical, financial, and operational constraints that shape what these systems can realistically achieve. This session takes an honest look at the current boundaries of AI, from latency and computing power to data storage, infrastructure, access to investment, and deployment constraints, while also showcasing the emerging technologies that may help overcome them. Looking beyond today’s barriers, it will offer insight into what comes next and how future advances in AI could shape the development of technologies and cities.