From complex challenges to an integrated narrative: Leeuwarden uses 3D city model to visualize the city in an integrated manner.
- Future Insight
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
The challenges we face in the Netherlands are greater than ever. Whatever the challenge, we can no longer solve these complex issues “by continuing to do what we did.” Albert van Holthoon , Program Manager of the Leeuwarden Digital Agenda at the Municipality of Leeuwarden, shares his vision on how a 3D database and viewer hold the key to better decision-making and offer transparency from citizen to administrator.
The necessity of integrated working
Like many other governments, Albert acknowledges the major challenges of our time. Not only at the national level, but also at the provincial and local levels, we face enormous tasks in the areas of housing, traffic, transport, the environment, the energy transition, and more. The Municipality of Leeuwarden is no exception.
For all these issues, policy officers are busy every day writing well-intentioned advice from their own fields of expertise, which is subsequently presented as 'the truth'. But, Albert adds: “We see that you have to tackle all those issues integrally, and if we do that integrally, then you can have a dialogue with each other.”
When you approach problems integrally, you can also visualize them integrally. And this visualization makes it much easier to tell the story; after all, everyone immediately sees what is meant.
Practical example: Spoordok Program
What does that 3D added value look like in practice? Look at the Spoordok project in Leeuwarden. This former industrial complex near the station is being transformed into a vibrant area with housing and business activity, entirely nature-inclusive and circular. “All the challenges we face come together on that same site.”
By unlocking all data and bringing it together in a 3D city model, we notice that the people working on this project are truly helped in the area development. Immediate benefits arise, such as:
Better decision-making: More complex questions can be brought to the forefront more quickly.
Recognition among stakeholders: Project members immediately see how various challenges converge in the same field.
Lower failure costs: 3D provides control even underground. By integrating KLIK notifications, errors during excavation work are prevented.
Transparency for the administration and residents
“As a municipal organization, we work for an executive.” That consists of the aldermen and the mayor, with the municipal council as the highest body. “We notice that it is often very complicated to properly present complex issues to the municipal council. In that case, visualizing data and telling the story helps enormously. It doesn't mean that making decisions becomes easier, but it does make matters more transparent,” Albert explains.
He would prefer that all data be fully shared with residents, so that they too understand why certain choices are made. The next stop? VR and Augmented Reality. This allows residents to literally walk through their future city and experience for themselves what their living environment might look like.
Why Leeuwarden chose Future Insight
In the search for a 3D partner, Leeuwarden did not simply look for the biggest player, but for a partner who would collaborate on an equal footing. They found that in Future Insight.
Albert experiences the collaboration as very direct and personal. He feels that he is heard immediately when he makes contact: “We are a good match.” Additionally, he considers it essential that Future Insight works with an open system rather than a closed one: “That gives me freedom. Should our relationship ever deteriorate, I can simply sail away to another provider. We are not tied to each other.”
Ready for the next step in urban digitalization?
The 3D city model of Leeuwarden proves that data only gains true value when presented in context. Would you like to know how a 3D database and viewer can help your organization with complex area development or citizen participation?
Watch Albert's video or contact Rick Klooster directly for a personal demo.
