The World Makers
(2024) In Fennia 202(2). p.319-325- Abstract
Digital twins – realistic digital representations of physical entities, connected by real-time data flow – have spread into varied sectors of society. One sector that deserves further attention is the digital twinning of urban areas. The quick deployment of digital twins of cities and their interactions with the material and social elements of the 'smart city' have been enabled by discourses of technological optimism and the hope that smart cities can allow for solutions to 'hard problems' like the climate emergency. However, the social and cultural values that underpin the creation and practice of these technologies are not yet well understood. In this essay, I tell the story of Joakim, a man who has created a digital twin of his small... (More)
Digital twins – realistic digital representations of physical entities, connected by real-time data flow – have spread into varied sectors of society. One sector that deserves further attention is the digital twinning of urban areas. The quick deployment of digital twins of cities and their interactions with the material and social elements of the 'smart city' have been enabled by discourses of technological optimism and the hope that smart cities can allow for solutions to 'hard problems' like the climate emergency. However, the social and cultural values that underpin the creation and practice of these technologies are not yet well understood. In this essay, I tell the story of Joakim, a man who has created a digital twin of his small hometown. The direction he has taken with his digital twin, one which he believes takes his project beyond the limits of city-centric twins, is guided by his notions of community, democracy and sustainability. Attention to small-scale and grassroots digital twins can help us to reconsider the affordances of digital twins: the ways that they can create multiple representations of reality and can allow users to make actionable predictions. Given digital twins’ increasing importance in the governance of urban areas, a vital first step in becoming more literate in our interactions with the technology is to better understand their social construction.
(Less)
- author
- Ravn, Kenneth LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- critical cartography, digital twins, simulation, smart cities, sociotechnical systems
- in
- Fennia
- volume
- 202
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 7 pages
- publisher
- Geographical Society of Finland
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105003688725
- ISSN
- 0015-0010
- DOI
- 10.11143/fennia.146904
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- b404fa68-b623-4280-aae8-b5e641486cf1
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-01 14:52:31
- date last changed
- 2025-10-01 14:52:45
@article{b404fa68-b623-4280-aae8-b5e641486cf1,
abstract = {{<p>Digital twins – realistic digital representations of physical entities, connected by real-time data flow – have spread into varied sectors of society. One sector that deserves further attention is the digital twinning of urban areas. The quick deployment of digital twins of cities and their interactions with the material and social elements of the 'smart city' have been enabled by discourses of technological optimism and the hope that smart cities can allow for solutions to 'hard problems' like the climate emergency. However, the social and cultural values that underpin the creation and practice of these technologies are not yet well understood. In this essay, I tell the story of Joakim, a man who has created a digital twin of his small hometown. The direction he has taken with his digital twin, one which he believes takes his project beyond the limits of city-centric twins, is guided by his notions of community, democracy and sustainability. Attention to small-scale and grassroots digital twins can help us to reconsider the affordances of digital twins: the ways that they can create multiple representations of reality and can allow users to make actionable predictions. Given digital twins’ increasing importance in the governance of urban areas, a vital first step in becoming more literate in our interactions with the technology is to better understand their social construction.</p>}},
author = {{Ravn, Kenneth}},
issn = {{0015-0010}},
keywords = {{critical cartography; digital twins; simulation; smart cities; sociotechnical systems}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{319--325}},
publisher = {{Geographical Society of Finland}},
series = {{Fennia}},
title = {{The World Makers}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.11143/fennia.146904}},
doi = {{10.11143/fennia.146904}},
volume = {{202}},
year = {{2024}},
}