On 16–17 June, the European Local Digital Twin community gathered in Valencia for the presentation of the results of the EU LDT Toolbox, an important milestone for cities, regions, researchers, innovators and institutions working on interoperable digital urban infrastructure.
Over two days, the EU LDT Toolbox consortium shared the outcomes of its work with the wider LDT community through live demonstrations, hands-on sessions, pilot city experiences and strategic discussions on the future of Local Digital Twins in Europe.
The Toolbox provides an open-source infrastructure for interoperable Local Digital Twins, based on modular building blocks and shared standards. Its purpose is to help cities and regions simulate, analyse and plan urban environments more effectively, while strengthening local digital sovereignty and avoiding fragmented or duplicated solutions. But the main message from Valencia was clear: Europe now moves from development to adoption.
Local Digital Twins are no longer only about experimentation or isolated pilot projects. Cities need practical tools, implementation capacity, operational models and adoption mechanisms that they can actually use. They need shared infrastructure, governance continuity, sandbox environments, and a European community that supports reuse, interoperability and scale.
This is where LDT CitiVERSE EDIC will play a central role. As the European ecosystem moves into this new phase, LDT CitiVERSE EDIC will act as a “clubhouse” for the European Local Digital Twin community: a place where cities, regions, academia, innovators, companies and public institutions can connect, collaborate and build on shared assets.
In practice, this means supporting the next phase of the EU LDT Toolbox by:
- making the Toolbox available through the EDIC’s portal and infrastructure for cities, regions, academia and innovators;
- offering sandbox facilities for cities to test, integrate and provide feedback on tools and components;
- providing governance continuity and institutional legitimacy for community decisions;
- connecting the Toolbox with other national and European initiatives to strengthen synergies and avoid fragmentation.
The Valencia gathering also highlighted the importance of building a stronger European commons around Local Digital Twins: a shared space for knowledge, open-source components, implementation experience, standards and reusable solutions.
This collective approach is essential if Europe wants to move from individual projects to a sustainable, interoperable and sovereign digital infrastructure for cities.
We would like to thank the entire EU LDT Toolbox consortium, led by Patricia Tamarit, Dr. Antonio J. Jara and Ivan Lalaguna Alcaine, for their work and commitment, as well as all cities, partners, experts and institutions that contributed to the discussions in Valencia.
The completion of the EU LDT Toolbox is not an end point. It is the beginning of a new phase focused on adoption, validation, collaboration and long-term impact. At LDT CitiVERSE EDIC, we look forward to working with the community to turn this shared momentum into practical value for cities and regions across Europe.
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