Imagine a city where the invisible world hidden beneath streets and buildings is mapped and integrated with innovative urban planning. TreeCity, one of the finalists of FinEst Centre for Smart Cities's Smart City Challenge 2024, offers exactly this.
Innovative 3D technology creates precise models of tree root systems and integrates them with digital twins of cities. The result is greener cities, healthier trees, and more thoughtful urban planning—a balance, perhaps even harmony, between nature and infrastructure.
The problem: the invisible world of cities
Beneath cities lies a complex infrastructure that includes water supply systems, electrical grids, sewage networks, gas pipelines, and even historical and geological layers. Additionally, there are tree root systems, which are essential for maintaining urban greenery. However, in practice, current urban planning often fails to consider the importance of these roots – or mycorrhiza, the symbiotic fungal networks—leading to a decline in tree vitality and, ultimately, their removal.