Urban Digital Twin for Environmentally Sensitive and People-Centered Mobility Planning: Conceptual Framework and Application in Pilot Region Leipzig

This study presents the development and pilot implementation of a conceptual, practice-oriented Urban Digital Twin (UDT) used for environmentally sensitive traffic management within the pilot region of Leipzig (Germany). The UDT uses modular traffic simulations (SUMO), real-time sensor data and floating car data to create dynamic, near-real-time models of intermodal urban mobility systems and to evaluate mobility measures. Through a collaborative, co-creative development process involving municipal stakeholders, the study focuses on people-centred design and scenario-based simulations to assess the potential impact of transport strategies under upcoming air pollution limits. The Leipzig case serves as a test environment for validating the technical feasibility, participatory governance and transferability of the UDT approach. The results show the potential of UDTs to support responsive, data-driven decision-making using the developed workflow manager. In doing so, this study provides a transferable methodological basis for cities that want to implement an intelligent, sustainable and socially inclusive mobility transformation using digital twin technology.