University of Moncton The University of Moncton led an initiative with the cities of Moncton and Dieppe to use virtual twins experience to drive sustainable urban development. Smart City Planning Tackles Urban Growth Around the world, city populations keep growing and with that so do pressures on housing, transportation, urban infrastructure and the natural environment. In the Canadian province of New Brunswick, the cities of Moncton and Dieppe are all too familiar with these challenges as years of rapid growth test the limits of what existing housing, roads and green space can absorb. “Moncton is one of the fastest growing municipalities in the country and it’s putting real pressure on where and how we accommodate people,” said Josh Davies, manager of long-range policy planning at the City of Moncton. “Affordable housing is a major challenge, especially as construction and labor costs continue to rise.” Densification is one way for cities to grow sustainably. Instead of expanding outwards, the idea is to concentrate development. Compact urban areas (also described as 15-minute cities) bring housing, services and employment closer together to help reduce car dependency, lower emissions and make better use of existing infrastructure. They also address housing supply issues in areas where land is finite and construction costs are high. It’s important we plan future development carefully. This project is designed to study urban densification and our role at the university is to apply the expertise of our students and faculty to create a virtual twin of the region. “We’re looking at areas like the Mountain Road transit corridor in Moncton to understand what density should look like,” Davies said. “If buildings are constructed closer to the street, how high should they be? What are the parking ratios? What should they look like from the street and how will they affect