272: Beyond Data Mirrors A Framework For Participatory Urban Digital Twins

This paper proposes a cybernetic framework for Urban Digital Twins (UDTs) that prioritizes participatory governance over technocratic optimization. Drawing from Stafford Beer's cybernetic principles and lessons from Project Cybersyn, we address contemporary UDT challenges, including data fragmentation, digital inequality, and limited citizen participation. The framework presents five core principles: distributed data governance, recursive decentralized coordination, algedonic signals for system feedback, interoperability through federated structures, and scenario simulation for collective learning. Rather than reducing urban complexity through algorithmic control, this approach employs variety engineering to amplify citizens' capacity to engage meaningfully with urban governance.