May 27, 2025

DecarbCityTwin: A platform for urban decarbonization

A project between the University of Washington, Southern Illinois University and the City of Seattle is developing a groundbreaking platform to improve urban decarbonization efforts. DecarbCityTwin merges advanced technologies to help cities implement effective carbon reduction measures while simultaneously addressing ever-important equity concerns.

“DecarbCityTwin is a pilot platform developed as a proof-of-concept to support building decarbonization efforts while addressing critical health, energy and equity challenges, especially in marginalized communities,” explains Dr. Narjes Abbasabadi, an assistant professor at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments and project lead investigator.

Funded by the University of Washington’s Population Health Initiative, the pilot of DecarbCityTwin employs a cross-disciplinary approach to address climate solutions that typically remain fragmented between different organizations. The team merges expertise in energy efficiency, pollution assessment, digital twin technology, data science and community engagement.

Chris Meek, a professor of architecture at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments, recognizes the benefit of this multidisciplinary approach: “One of the great strengths of an interdisciplinary team is that we can identify alignments between public policy, energy efficiency, electrification, resilience, health and occupant comfort. The DecarbCityTwin project seeks cost-effective solutions that lower energy costs and carbon emissions while improving indoor air quality and increasing resilience to excessive heat events in underserved communities.”

Health-driven decarbonization efforts tend to struggle to provide data that connects the differential burden of indoor and outdoor air pollution. DecarbCityTwin aims to address this gap through its high-resolution predictive models.

“By combining the predictive power of machine learning with the rigor of physics-based simulations, we can more accurately capture the complexity of urban building performance,” explains Abbasabadi. “Physics-based models are ideal for simulating core building characteristics like insulation, heat transfer and ventilation, while AI and machine learning help identify patterns and relationships in real-world data that are often missed by conventional models.”

Dr. Mehdi Ashaveri, an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University and co-investigator on the project, sees the immense promise of emerging technologies, such as AI. “AI, machine learning, and automation significantly enhance the efficiency and scalability of decarbonization efforts by rapidly processing large, complex datasets and automating time-intensive analyses,” Ashaveri noted. “These technologies allow us to work with diverse data sources at a speed and scale not possible with conventional methods.”

The platform is also highly specific, which Ani Krishnan from the City of Seattle’s Office of Sustainability & Environment emphasizes, given that environmental policies cannot follow a “one size fits all” approach. Because of this, Krishnan explains, granular information is vital to developing nuanced solutions.

DecarbCityTwin has partnered with Seattle as its pilot city, aligning with Seattle’s Green New Deal through its aim of reducing carbon emissions while addressing crucial equity concerns. City climate budgets are tight, and DecarbCityTwin could maximize the social and environmental impact of these limited funds.

The platform is designed with scalability in mind, aspiring to be a framework that a range of cities can all stand to gain from.

“DecarbCityTwin is designed to be modular and data-adaptable,” explains Abbasabadi. “Its core framework can be tailored using local building typologies, environmental conditions and policy contexts.”

The team envisions long-term impacts extending beyond emission reductions, hoping that it helps fundamentally shift how cities approach climate justice and equity within their planning initiatives. Krishnan explains that beyond the technical outputs of the tool, ” The project’s structure – a partnership between academia, municipal government, and community organizations – can shape a long-overdue culture shift in how frontline communities are empowered to co-develop the programs and policies that impact them.”