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ide3a: A Digital Campus for Transdisciplinary Research on Interconnected Urban Critical Infrastructure Systems
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  • Siling Chen,
  • Dóra Hegyi,
  • Margaux Huth,
  • Florian Brokhausen,
  • Ongun Türkcüoglu,
  • Philipp Wiesner,
  • Jochen Rabe,
  • Sangyoung Park,
  • Lauritz Thamsen,
  • Paweł S. Hachaj,
  • Yan Delauré,
  • Franz Tscheikner-Gratl,
  • Andrea Castelletti,
  • Jossekin Beilharz,
  • Paul Uwe Thamsen,
  • Andrea Cominola
Siling Chen
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin

Corresponding Author:siling.chen@tu-berlin.de

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Dóra Hegyi
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Margaux Huth
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Florian Brokhausen
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Ongun Türkcüoglu
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Philipp Wiesner
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Jochen Rabe
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Sangyoung Park
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Lauritz Thamsen
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Paweł S. Hachaj
Cracow University of Technology, Cracow University of Technology
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Yan Delauré
Dublin City University, Dublin City University
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Franz Tscheikner-Gratl
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
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Andrea Castelletti
Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Milano
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Jossekin Beilharz
Hasso Plattner Institute, Hasso Plattner Institute
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Paul Uwe Thamsen
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Andrea Cominola
Technische Universität Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
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Abstract

Urbanization and climate change are exacerbating stress on aging urban critical infrastructure systems, including water, energy, mobility, and telecommunication networks. Simulation tools and scenario analyses able to capture the interdependencies among these different infrastructure systems are crucial to support decision making and realize sustainable and resilient development. Yet, existing simulation tools are mostly developed within the boundaries of individual application sectors and information often remains siloed, despite the increasing data and computational opportunities offered by the digital transformation of many infrastructure sectors. In this work, we present how the ide3a project (international alliance for digital e-learning, e-mobility and e-research in academia – https://ide3a.net) addresses this research gap. ide3a is building a digital campus to support digital learning, research, and mobility in collaboration within a network of six European partner universities. Several senior and early career researchers with multidisciplinary backgrounds in water management, IT systems, mobility, energy, urban planning, sustainability, and psychology, work together to integrate state-of-the-art research on critical infrastructure and digitalization into traditional higher education curricula. As part of the ide3a portfolio of digital tools for learning and research, we present a prototype of “ConnectiCity”, an open-source simulation-based serious game that integrates multi-sectoral models to perform simulations of interconnected critical infrastructure systems and quantify cascading effects under various climate, social, and technical scenarios. Along with other ide3a activities, it is used to train early career researchers and students alike to enrich their transdisciplinary knowledge, foster critical system thinking, drive research on urban critical infrastructure dynamics, and ultimately working across disciplines to tackle contemporary urban challenges.