{"id":722302,"date":"2025-01-28T05:38:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T13:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=blog&#038;p=722302"},"modified":"2025-05-16T13:10:09","modified_gmt":"2025-05-16T20:10:09","slug":"nottingham-3d-planning-efficiencies","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/blog\/nottingham-3d-planning-efficiencies","title":{"rendered":"Digital Twin Technology Drives Nottingham&#8217;s City Center Renewal"},"author":671,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[491352,21622,341,433641,1511,237681],"industry":[],"esri-blog-category":[492452,478722],"esri_blog_department":[492402],"class_list":["post-722302","blog","type-blog","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-esri-insider","tag-bng","tag-digital-twin","tag-economic-development","tag-investment","tag-revitalization","tag-urban-planning","esri-blog-category-economic-development","esri-blog-category-housing","esri_blog_department-urban-planning"],"acf":{"video_source":"","video_start":"","video_stop":"","short_description":"Nottingham City Council embraced a digital twin approach to showcase redevelopment plans, selling how the city is forward thinking.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Right","content":"Nottingham City Council has demonstrated that the future of city planning lies at the intersection of visualization technology, data analysis, and collaboration.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<strong>Key Takeaways<\/strong>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Nottingham demonstrated that for every British pound invested, a local planning authority can expect to get back \u00a32 in efficiency and money saved over 10 years.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Urban and economic development staff see faster application review processes and better design results.<\/li>\r\n \t<li>For Nottingham, the benefits of 3D modeling include a more engaged public, improved communication with developers, and data-driven decision-making.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>","snippet":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Like most urban centers, the city of Nottingham, England, has a rich history and strong cultural heritage, but it has been hampered for more than a decade by remnants of past retail and industrial patterns. The city\u2019s Broadmarsh Centre shopping mall stood mostly vacant. Several former manufacturing sites needed to be cleaned up and repurposed. Train and bus transport hubs looked drab and required costly maintenance.\r\n\r\nNottingham City Council met these challenges with an ambitious revitalization plan that included new parks, office space, and housing. Nottingham planners created and shared their vision for what the city center could become, using a 3D digital twin built with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/arcgis\/products\/arcgis-urban\/overview\">ArcGIS Urban<\/a> and other geographic information system (GIS) technology. The digital twin combines a 3D object model, real-world scans of buildings, and location-specific planning data to guide planning decisions.\r\n\r\nThis digital twin also helped the city secure \u00a34 billion worth of investments and redevelopment bonds that are funding Nottingham\u2019s transformation.\r\n\r\nThe train station has been renovated. A new bus station and parking garage now link pedestrians and cyclists with trains, trams, buses, and taxis. The city has a new central library and other public spaces. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investinnottingham.com\/news-and-events\/read\/2024\/09\/nottingham-celebrates-opening-of-green-heart-a-brand-new-space-for-community-and-nature-in-heart-of-the-city-b6525\">Green Heart<\/a> park now provides access to nature downtown with a pond, wetland plants, and a flowering meadow. The <a href=\"https:\/\/theislandquarter.com\/masterplan\/\">Island Quarter<\/a> development includes 300 homes as well as housing for Nottingham University students. The Queens Road development will add 380 homes near the train station."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[722342,722332,722352,722362]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"With all this development and new residents in the center of the city, Nottingham feels more vibrant. If all the plans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghampartners.co.uk\/9759\/nottinghams-4bn-development-programme-highlights-core-citys-ongoing-regeneration\/#:~:text=Together%20the%20new%20developments%20would,and%20Infrastructure%20Forum%20in%20Leeds.\">become a reality<\/a>, more than 7,000 new homes, 15,000 new jobs, and 2 million square feet of office and commercial floor space will further transform the city.\r\n\r\n\u201cWhen other developers see that investment, they want a piece of it,\u201d said Mick Dunn, business development specialist, Geographical Information Services, Nottingham City Council. \u201cThat\u2019s the beauty of pushing out the information in 3D. It\u2019s a selling piece.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":726312,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/experience.arcgis.com\/experience\/85b75477eeb34f40aa42d12b99808315\/"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h3><strong>Digging Beneath the Surface<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nNottingham began using 3D modeling for city planning 20 years ago. The planning team also explored 3D technology to map the vast network of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk\/blog\/read\/2024\/08\/going-underground-explore-nottinghams-top-caves-b5494\">850 underground caverns<\/a> carved out of the sandstone beneath the city.\r\n\r\nThe caves played many pivotal roles in the city\u2019s past, including helping Edward III sneak into Nottingham Castle in 1330 during a coup against his mother, and later providing shelter from bombing during World War II. The caves now serve as a tourist attraction, with an interactive map created by Nottingham City Council to guide exploration.\r\n\r\nThis map of the past helped the planners build their skills to map the future. By working to map the caves, the planning team gained proficiency in 3D and earned a reputation for app development. When planners received central government funding for city revitalization, they wanted to showcase how 3D technology could support advanced analysis."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":726302,"image_position":"center","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":"https:\/\/geoserver.nottinghamcity.gov.uk\/caves\/"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Nottingham\u2019s digital twin now covers more than 73 square kilometers and depicts thousands of historic and modern buildings, open spaces, and infrastructure. It includes data about conservation areas, floodplains, and parks, as well as live feeds for traffic and street-level video from CCTV cameras. Planners rely on the digital twin to assess site context, see how traffic is behaving, and safeguard natural areas across the city.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s gone from just a visualization tool to more of an analytical tool for design and metrics,\u201d Dunn said.\r\n<h3><strong>Part of the Planning Process<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nNow, 3D modeling has become embedded in Nottingham\u2019s workflows to assess the impact of development proposals. Planners drop a model of each proposed building into the digital twin to check visual impact, calculate site capacity, and negotiate height and floor space with the developer.\r\n\r\nPaul Seddon, the director of planning and transport at Nottingham City Council, said <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mynottinghamnews.co.uk\/council-secures-375000-to-map-out-future-of-3d-planning-technology\/\">in a press release<\/a> that the digital twin has helped staff negotiate better design. \u201cIt gives confidence to both planning officers and applicants about the appropriateness of development and therefore the likelihood of planning approval being granted,\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nWith the successful adoption of a 3D digital twin workflow, Nottingham City Council has achieved three key objectives: greater ease for people to engage in the planning process; increased transparency of decision-making; and a decrease in the amount of time it takes to move from application to formal decision."},{"acf_fc_layout":"gallery","gallery_images":[724432,724422,724542,724562,724552,726292]},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"This tech-driven, collaborative approach is helping make Nottingham more livable and resilient. The digital twin helps <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dqfnottingham.org.uk\/\">reenvision<\/a> the city with input from residents, focusing on architecture and design. The plan prioritizes quality spaces that promote health, safety, and nature (see sidebar) while being welcoming to people of all ages.\r\n\r\nThe city that once thrived on manufacturing has been fostering connections to high-growth industries, such as clean energy providers and life sciences researchers. The digital twin provides the platform that city leaders need to promote the city\u2019s advantages to potential employers.\r\n<h3><strong>Sharing the Value of 3D Across the UK<\/strong><\/h3>\r\nNottingham City Council has been sharing its expertise about the value of 3D technology with other local authorities. The city has forged a tight connection to the University of Nottingham and other partners to test and understand the benefits of digital twin technology and discuss how to implement it effectively.\r\n\r\nRecently, the 3D digital twin of Nottingham City won a Geography in Government 2024 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nottingham.ac.uk\/news\/city-as-lab-collaboration-wins-award-for-innovation\">award for innovation<\/a>. The Nottingham planning team hopes that the recognition and the demonstrated value of digital twins will help make 3D planning the standard across the UK.\r\n\r\n\u201cThe move to 3D geospatial technology is inevitable,\u201d said Laura Pullen, GIS manager at Nottingham City Council. \u201cWe are creating a blueprint to support rapid deployment of similar capabilities across other local planning authorities.\u201d\r\n\r\nThis blueprint comes at an opportune time in the UK as a national housing shortage has become a government priority. There\u2019s a strong interest in speeding the time of building approvals to meet a deficit of 1.5 million homes across the country.\r\n\r\nIn March 2023, Nottingham secured a \u00a3375,000 government grant to further improve 3D technology and modernize the planning application process. Funds from the Ministry of Housing, Communities &amp; Local Government have enhanced the city\u2019s 3D modeling process.\r\n\r\nAs part of the project, Nottingham planners helped the nearby city of Bradford adopt 3D planning workflows. A cost-benefit analysis assessed the value of this digital transformation and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/home\/item.html?id=fa361ff8d52e446780eccf3932d6c1a0\">reported that the benefits outweighed the costs.<\/a> This means that for every pound invested in digital twin technology, a local planning authority can expect to get back \u00a32 in efficiency and money saved over a 10 year period.\r\n<p class=\"p1\">The report concluded that the use of a digital twin led to faster, better decision-making and time savings for planners during the preliminary phase of a project. \u201cThe interest this has sparked across other local planning authorities has been amazing,\u201d Dunn said. \"Now we have a growing number of central government departments very interested in our approach and how this can be expanded to support operational and policy decisions relating to energy, transport and other urban considerations.\u201d<\/p>\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nLearn more about how <a href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/en-us\/industries\/urban-community-planning\/overview\">GIS and digital twins support smart community planning<\/a>. Review the video below for a walkthrough of the \"City as Lab\" entry that won the 2024 Geography in Government Award for innovation."},{"acf_fc_layout":"youtube","youtube_video_url":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/7oM-tDk68wg?si=0I7GsNwonCSrF3hV"},{"acf_fc_layout":"sidebar","layout":"standard","image_reference":null,"image_reference_figure":"","spotlight_image":null,"section_title":"","spotlight_name":"","position":"Center","content":"<h2><strong>Balancing Nature and Development<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nThe value of nature is being recalculated everywhere, but the UK now requires planners to measure nature\u2019s value as part of the approval process.\r\n\r\nUK Parliament passed a law in 2024 that requires developers to provide a <a href=\"https:\/\/post.parliament.uk\/research-briefings\/post-pn-0728\/#:~:text=In%202024%2C%20mandatory%20biodiversity%20net,such%20as%20woodland%2C%20are%20mapped.\">biodiversity net gain<\/a> for all projects. They must detail habitat improvements that will show at least a 10 percent gain of biodiversity over a 30-year period. By linking development to natural-area improvements, the country is prompting more creative, nature-based solutions.\r\n\r\nNottingham\u2019s 3D digital twin, packed with environmental data, aids planners in reaching biodiversity net gain goals\u2014and will provide regulatory metrics.\r\n\r\nThe city\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.susdrain.org\/case-studies\/pdfs\/greening_streets_retrofit_rain_gardens_nottingham.pdf\">sustainable urban drainage systems<\/a> are being engineered to mimic natural wetlands. This will provide habitat for aquatic species while reducing the threat from flooding. The city also has added natural ponds and rain gardens to absorb stormwater and calm turbulent waters that could otherwise cause flooding.\r\n\r\nCity planners have woven habitat enhancement into Nottingham\u2019s long-term plan. The city has taken steps to protect and enhance natural areas as part of its revitalization, including planting diverse species of trees and pollinator-friendly flowering plants. Residents are being encouraged to allow the growth of native plants and to give wildlife a chance to move in.\r\n\r\nNottingham also wants to become the first carbon-neutral city in the United Kingdom by 2028.\r\n\r\nThe <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk\/your-council\/about-the-council\/carbon-neutral-nottingham-2028\/\">Carbon Neutral Nottingham<\/a> goal is coming closer to reality, thanks to refreshed transit options, new energy-efficient buildings, and the switch to renewable energy across the city. New housing in the city center will maximize connectivity to the city\u2019s district heating network. Green space, which comprises more than 20 percent of the city, also contributes to this goal, with enhanced natural areas and tree planting that provide a cooling effect in hot weather.\r\n\r\nThe digital twin has become essential to calculating the carbon sequestration value of natural areas and comparing that value with carbon emissions to monitor the Carbon Neutral Nottingham 2028 goal.","snippet":""}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Digital Twin Technology Drives Nottingham&#039;s City Center Renewal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Nottingham City Council embraced a digital twin approach to showcasing redevelopment plans, selling how the city is forward thinking.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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