Highlights

What are the main accomplishments of this study?

• Provides a comprehensive literature review on social digital twin (SDT) concepts, features, key technologies, and analytical tools, and highlights research gaps and practical challenges.

• Proposes an SDT framework and governance model designed to address the limitations of current urban digital twins (UDTs) by integrating social dimensions throughout the process.

What are the implications of this study?

• Transforms UDTs by advancing dynamic, holistic models that go beyond representing physical “spaces” to capturing the full “place”, including both physical and social dimensions, in real time. This improves the conceptualization, modeling, and practical applications of SDTs.

• Promotes a socially inclusive governance model for smart city management through the SDT framework, offering valuable guidance for researchers, decision-makers, and technology developers, while enabling cities to better meet urban social needs.

Abstract

The rapid evolution of smart city technologies has expanded digital twin (DT) applications from industrial to urban contexts. However, current urban digital twins (UDTs) remain predominantly focused on the physical aspects of urban environments (“spaces”), often overlooking the interwoven social dimensions that shape the concept of “place”. This limitation restricts their ability to fully represent the complex interplay between physical and social systems in urban settings. To address this gap, this paper introduces the concept of the social digital twin (SDT), which integrates social dimensions into UDTs to bridge the divide between technological systems and the lived urban experience. Drawing on an extensive literature review, the study defines key components for transitioning from UDTs to SDTs, including conceptualization and modeling of human interactions (geo-individuals and geo-socials), social applications, participatory governance, and community engagement. Additionally, it identifies essential technologies and analytical tools for implementing SDTs, outlines research gaps and practical challenges, and proposes a framework for integrating social dynamics within UDTs. This framework emphasizes the importance of active community participation through a governance model and offers a comprehensive methodology to support researchers, technology developers, and policymakers in advancing SDT research and practical applications.

Title

Smart Cities

Publisher

MDPI

Publisher Country

Switzerland

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

7.0

Publication Type

Online only

Volume

8

Year

2025

Pages

23