3B Istanbul (3D Istanbul)

The project has developed as a highly realistic 3D digital twin of Istanbul, supports public and private sector stakeholders in making conscious decisions on urban investments, including zoning plans and infrastructure projects. The project offers real-time data, allowing users to experience current weather conditions, and facilitates detailed examination and analysis of urban structures.

The project contributes to urban awareness and tourism while promoting sustainable development and environmental friendly urbanization, serving as a model for other cities.

The project enables the preservation and sustainable management of Istanbul’s historical, cultural, and natural heritage while supporting more conscious and accurate decision-making in urban planning, urban transformation, infrastructure projects, and tourism. Moreover, the integration of real-time data allows users to experience the city dynamically, contributing to increased urban awareness. This approach positions 3D Istanbul as a model for environmentally friendly urbanization and sustainable development.

For mesh production, six high-performance workstations were used, each equipped with an Intel Xeon Gold CPU, 256 GB of RAM, an NVIDIA RTX A5000 (24 GB VRAM), and a total storage capacity of 42 TB. This powerful hardware infrastructure provided supercomputer-level data processing capability. Local systems were preferred due to compatibility requirements with Windows-based software.

The front-end development process was carried out using the ArcGIS JavaScript SDK, and the entire system was optimized to support comprehensive data integration.

The project aims to preserve Istanbul’s historical, cultural, and natural heritage and transfer it to future generations. It also seeks to contribute to monitoring urban transformations, changes in the city’s architectural texture over time, and the natural environment. By providing spatial data that facilitates strategic decision-making for both public and private sectors, the project supports more conscious investment decisions for the city. The sustainability of the project is ensured by the GIS Directorate, making it a pioneering and exemplary initiative.

From an urban planning perspective, the project significantly contributes to the preservation of the city’s historical and cultural fabric and the development of urban awareness. By integrating time-based shadow interactions and live weather data, the project allows users to experience current weather conditions (sunny, cloudy, rainy, or foggy) in real time. This integration of real-time weather data enables more detailed examination of urban structures, while tools for length and area measurements facilitate research and visual analyses related to the city. In this way, the project provides a rich experience for both researchers and curious users, while also supporting urban tourism. The project’s scope continues to expand, and the digital model, which now covers nearly the entire city, serves as an archive of Istanbul’s spatial data. It offers an open-access, user-friendly platform for all.

3D Istanbul project is also unique and pioneering in terms of public access, transparency, data-driven governance, and respect for cultural heritage. The project’s most significant achievement is the creation of a three-dimensional digital twin of a highly stratified and intricate city like Istanbul, providing all stakeholders with real-time, measurable, and analyzable spatial infrastructure.

Integrated with GIS data, the model is further enriched with real-time information, such as weather data, allowing detailed analysis of distances between buildings, shadows, and environmental impacts. This provides extensive access for effective use in various fields, including urban planning, urban transformation, infrastructure projects, and tourism. The project has been designed as a user-friendly platform that is easily accessible to everyone.