Making (common) sense of Urban Digital Twins with Q methodology

Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) serve as boundary objects, facilitating interactions among diverse actor-networks within an innovation ecosystem. The concept of UDTs exhibits ‘interpretative flexibility’, allowing policymakers, technologists, urban planners and citizens to impose their values, needs and expectations onto the technology while sustaining a shared understanding of its potential. A key question arises: how can perspectives on UDTs within these actor-networks be identified and guide future innovation? Using the Q methodology for ‘boundary spanning’, the authors investigated the range of perspectives on UDTs and their influence on shaping regional innovation strategies. The research included some intervention-oriented aims and engaged 29 participants from governmental, industrial, and academic sectors involved in UDT initiatives in a regional urban network in the Netherlands. In interviews, participants completed a card-sorting task, ranking 41 statements that addressed five critical dimensions: Terminology, Values, Impact, Innovation and Strategy. The analysis revealed three dominant perspectives: (1) Strategic Confidence in UDTs; (2) Cautious Critique of UDTs; and (3) Technological Pragmatism for UDTs. The findings from this Q study fostered a better understanding of the UDT perspectives and cross-sector collaboration in the urban network, leading to more dynamic and adaptive UDT strategies.