City Schema

The world is experiencing a period of extreme urbanization. In the future, cities are expected to account for nearly 90% of global population growth, 80% of wealth creation, and 60% of total energy consumption. The rapid economic and population growth occurring throughout Saudi Arabia is posing new challenges. In particular, problems related to planning and managing complex systems such as cities. Saudi Arabia’s current growing population of 28 million is expected to double by 2032.

Therefore, developing better strategies for the creation of new “Smarter Cities” is a global imperative. The need to improve our understanding of cities is pressed not only by the social relevance of urban environments, but also by the availability of new strategies for city-scale interventions that are enabled by emerging technologies.

The proposition is that the livability and economic vitality of cities can be significantly improved while, at the same time, resource consumption is dramatically reduced. We believe that a new model for livable, high-performance, resilient cities are achievable through the integrated application of next-generation design strategies, innovative technology, and enlightened public policy. As demands grow and budgets tighten, solutions also have to be smarter. City schema aims to design a tool for building good cities as a rise in competition witnessed between cities to secure investment and to attract and retain the businesses and people needed for economic success.

We plan to utilize CitySchema in testing next-generation design strategies and innovative technologies by iteratively refining the design and visualizing the implications of each design change in real time.

In this project, we plan to develop simulations for the complex systems of city infrastructures as system of systems (networks) simulating the behaviors of these systems and their interdependencies as well as assist stakeholders in predicting future scenarios.

CitySchema will utilize a tangible interface (CityScope) and a simulation engine (CityAnalytics) to support collaborative city planning (CityCollaborative). CityScope will provide the tangible interface through a 3D modeling environment that supports various visualization and Interaction capabilities. CityAnalytics will provide a toolset for analyzing the data of the urban, transportation, energy and water systems of a community. CityCollaborative will provide the decision support system engine providing the collaboration platform between CityScope and CityAnalytics.