North Raleigh Today

The City of Raleigh’s Information Technology department has been awarded the prestigious Smart 20 Award for its innovative project titled "Using Microclimate Modeling and Digital Twin to Envision Raleigh's Future." The Smart 20 Awards, which celebrate global smart cities projects, aim to recognize the most groundbreaking and influential initiatives in the field.

City of Raleigh CIO Mark Wittenburg expressed gratitude for the recognition, stating, "We are honored to be recognized for our innovation team and partners’ work on how today's decisions impact the environment for our future generations through predictive models."

The award-winning project, a collaboration between the City of Raleigh’s IT department, Sustainability, Planning, Office of Strategy and Innovation, and external partner MITRE, focused on leveraging technology to address current challenges using microclimate modeling and a Digital GIS Twin to visualize Raleigh's future. By applying microclimate data to a 3D digital twin, the team was able to explore innovative solutions to urban complexities and climate change, paving the way for more intelligent and resilient urban development.

The Smart Cities Connect conference, where the award winners will be honored, is scheduled to take place on May 7-10, with Raleigh set to host the 2024 edition. The projects recognized by the Smart 20 Awards serve as prime examples of municipalities embracing technology and innovation to provide sustainable services and economic opportunities for diverse communities.