  One of the major challenges today lies in the creation of governance concepts
for regional development that not only promote growth but, at the same time,
ensure promotion of inclusiveness, fairness, and resilience. Digital twins can
support policymakers in developing smart, sustainable solutions for cities and
regions and, therefore, urban and non-urban environments. The project SCiNDTiLA
(Smart Cities aNd Digital Twins in Lower Austria) aims to define the
state-of-the-art in the field of smart cities, identify interdependencies,
critical components and stakeholders, and provide a roadmap for smart cities
with application to both smaller-scale urban and non-urban environments.
SCiNDTiLA uses the foundations of complexity theory and computational social
science methods to model Austrian towns and regions as smart cities/regions and
thus as systems of socio-technical interaction to guide policy decision-making
toward sustainable development.
