The Research Problem
Food systems lie at the heart of the food–energy–water nexus in urban environments. Their sustainability depends both on technical & technological (e.g., production processes, infrastructure) and social dynamics such as labour availability, consumer behaviour, and stakeholder practices. Digital Twins (DTs)—dynamic, virtual representations of systems powered by AI—offer transformative potential to model, simulate, and optimise flows of food, energy, and waste. As cities evolve into increasingly complex socio-technical systems, where human and technological factors continuously interact, it is critical to develop methods and tools that capture these dynamics to understand how they shape resource flows, influence circularity opportunities, and determine the effectiveness of sustainability interventions.
Bringing together expertise from the University of Bristol (UoB, UK), University of Queensland (UoQ, Australia), and National Cheng Kung University (NCKU, Taiwan), the team will apply AI-enabled Digital Twins, life cycle assessment, and advanced systems modelling to better understand how social behaviours and technological systems interact in urban food systems—supporting circular, equitable, and resilient sustainability transitions.
This project aligns with the “Sustainable world: cities and urbanization; energy transitions; water, and food security” focus by developing novel socio-technical and circular approaches to advance the sustainability of urban systems. By explicitly accounting for social, economic, and environmental dimensions in a explicit and transparent manner, this project seeks to address “Responsible and ethical applications of Artificial Intelligence” avoiding unintended exclusions/biases in decision-support tools.
Research Design
This project aims to create new, proof-of-concept tools and methods to create—and evaluate—circular transition strategies that can be fairer and more equitable. Key research questions to be explored include:
- How can social dynamics and human behaviours be captured, modelled, and integrated alongside technical factors & technological processes in urban food systems?
- How do social–technical dynamics and interactions influence resource flows, environmental impacts, and circularity outcomes across different urban contexts?
- How can AI-enabled DTs support fairer and more effective policy and planning decisions for urban food system transitions?
Methodologically, through a combination of DTs, Agent-Based Modelling (ABM), Discrete Event Simulation (DES), Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), circular economy transition methods, and real-world datasets, this project aims to offer initial, actionable insights to guide policymakers, industry, and communities in designing circular, equitable, and resilient food systems, while establishing a transferable methodology applicable to other cities globally. This can also show how AI, socio-technical innovation, and circular economy principles can converge to promote sustainable and ethical urban transitions.
This project brings together WUN institutions with recognised academic leadership on 1) Digital Twinning, systems thinking and design, including advanced ABM, DES modelling and simulation DT (UoB); 2) circular economy and systems transition research (UoQ); and 3) deep practical and industrial understanding of waste and resource management (NCKU). The project will operate through coordinated modelling development, data sharing, regular virtual workshops, and targeted research exchanges. Besides strong and complementary academic expertise, the project will capitalise on diversity on their socio-environmental contexts, to develop solutions that are not biased towards a single regional context. By comparing Bristol, Queensland and Tainan—three distinct urban settings—this project leverages WUN’s geographical reach to produce more transferable and relevant outcomes.
Project Objectives
The overarching goal of this project is to develop a deeper and more systematic understanding of how human/social and technological factors and dynamics interact within urban food systems. To do so, objectives will include the development of:
- Proof-of-concept DT-based socio-technical methods and tools to support circular, equitable, and resilient sustainability transitions,
- A roadmap for scaling across sectors and regions, and
- Initial policy recommendations.
Beneficiaries will include (i) policymakers, industry, and researchers, through enhanced tools for designing and assessing transition pathways, and (ii) producers and consumers, through insights enabling more sustainable production and consumption.
WUN plays a critical enabling role by providing funding and mechanisms for international collaboration, academic exchange, data sharing, and stakeholder engagement. More specifically, WUN’s support will:
- Enable to connect strong, complementary know-how—which would otherwise remain fragmented across institutions and regions—and leverage it to strengthen the project’s academic novelty and potential for impact, and
- Provide this project the multi-institutional and international scale and perspective that would not be possible through a single institution or bilateral partnership.