Urban Metaverse: The Smart City in the Industrial Metaverse. Opportunities of the metaverse for real-time, interactive, and inclusive infrastructure applications in urban areas

Abstract: The Urban Metaverse describes an immersive 3D environment that connects the physical world of the city and its citizens with its digital data and systems. Physical and digital realities merge, opening up new possibilities for the design and use of the city. This trend study serves as a source of inspiration and guidance for city and community leaders, urban planners, IT professionals, and anyone interested in the future of urban spaces. It helps to understand the opportunities and challenges of the urban metaverse as an evolution of the Smart City and to set the course for sustainable and innovative urban development. To this end, the study analyzes the opportunities that the urban metaverse offers for urban administration and the everyday life of citizens, presents key technologies, and highlights the socio-economic challenges of implementation. The focus is on the potential of the urban metaverse to optimize the planning and operation of urban infrastructures, to promote inclusion and civic participation, and to enhance the innovative capacity of cities and municipalities. The study develops four recommendations for the implementation of metaverse applications in an urban context: 1. user-centered design, 2. ubiquitous accessibility, 3. proactive design of the regulatory framework, and 4. development of viable business models.