Informational Modeling of Cities: Method and Challenges for Institutional Implementation

Although cities are increasingly permeated by information and communication technologies (ICTs), these urban centers still face theoretical and practical obstacles regarding the application of 3D technologies as a tool for urban planning and management. This study aims to ontologically structure an informational model as an urban management tool and assess the perceived challenges for implementing this model in the municipal public management of Curitiba, Brazil. The study was carried out through the collective subject discourse, the interviews’ thematic saturation, and Delphi techniques. The results indicate that the technical capacity, technological infrastructure, and financial resources for the development of a city information modeling (CIM) exist, although its activation for such development depends on a more significant political and managerial entrepreneurship in the decision-making in arrangements of multilevel governance, and, consequently, there is a need to develop public policies for staff training to stimulate and promote advanced technological innovations for urban management and planning. Implementing a CIM in large cities seems to face more management and planning problems due to the lack of institutional ontologies than technological, infrastructural, or knowledge limitations.