Urban Strategy

What effect would an airport expansion have on air quality and noise pollution? Can changing the speed limit in the city centre improve traffic flow? What will be the impact of a major development on the residents who live nearby? Every day, city officials, urban planners, engineers, and consultants need to make well-informed decisions that make a city safer, more liveable and accessible. But uncovering the right solution is often a complex and time-consuming task with many factors to consider.

Urban Strategy is an advanced software platform developed by TNO that enables stakeholders to engage in integral urban planning. They can view their proposed changes in an accurate digital twin of a city or region, and see the impact of those changes in mere minutes. This not only provides the insights they need, but also uncovers unforeseen challenges and can save cities time, money and effort developing ineffective solutions. With Urban Strategy, the effect of changes is instantly and clearly visible, enabling officials to make the right choices from the very start.

For years, TNO has been perfecting the highly advanced technology and knowledge needed to make Urban Strategy the robust and effective tool it is today. In contracted work with major cities in Europe, Asia, and North America, TNO has provided city stakeholders with deeper and more valuable insight in less time than ever before possible. The tool has been implemented in cities from Amsterdam to San Diego to Singapore.

Setting up a digital twin of a city or region in Urban Strategy requires unique knowledge and expertise that TNO experts can provide. Once the necessary data is incorporated and the system is set up, Urban Strategy is easy to use by stakeholders themselves. Given the growing demand for this revolutionary software, and the worldwide potential in cities, TNO is currently exploring ways to upscale the technology and make Urban Strategy more broadly available.

At the heart of Urban Strategy are powerful algorithms and graphical processing units (GPUs) – the same processors at the centre of video gaming and AI technology. The GPUs enable Urban Strategy to process thousands of data points in parallel instead of in a linear way, thereby achieving results up to 1,000 times faster than leading planning software on the market. In this way, Urban Strategy can enable consultants and strategists to execute exponentially more projects per year by reducing the time needed to plan and develop new, effective urban concepts.

What’s more, Urban Strategy is multi-faceted and multi-dimensional. Users can view the impact of developments in housing or decarbonisation strategies, in public transport or construction and more. In mere minutes, stakeholders can see the impact of developments on traffic, liveability, resident sentiment, financial growth, safety, well-being or other factors. And, by avoiding the costs of ineffective solutions and uncovering optimal solutions at the earliest stages of a project, cities will reap the benefits of a fast, efficient and effective planning tool for any new development.