Workshops Smart City Quantum Computing For Urban Planning...

Smart City Full Day Workshop

Quantum Computing for Urban Planning, Simulation, and Digital Twins

City digital twins generate terabytes of sensor data. Classical agent-based models struggle beyond 100,000 agents. This workshop examines where quantum computing provides genuine uplift for urban simulation and where it does not, with honest NISQ hardware assessments throughout.

Full day (6 hours + Q&A)

In person or online

Max 30 delegates

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Workshop Description

For urban planning teams and city digital twin architects. Covers quantum-enhanced agent-based modelling for population mobility simulation, QAOA for land use zoning optimisation, and QML for digital twin predictive analytics. Includes honest NISQ assessments against MATSim, Gurobi, and classical ML baselines.

Urban planning simulation involves three computational bottlenecks where quantum approaches are being explored. Agent-based models (MATSim, SUMO) simulate population movement and commuter flows, but scaling beyond 100,000 agents with realistic decision functions strains classical compute. Quantum machine learning offers parameterised circuits as surrogate models for agent behaviour, though current NISQ devices limit this to roughly 20-50 qubit circuits. Land use zoning is a combinatorial optimisation problem: allocating density, green space, and infrastructure across precincts subject to transport accessibility and population targets. QAOA can address small instances (50-100 variables) but Gurobi and simulated annealing handle production-scale zoning problems today. Digital twin predictive analytics (energy demand, water usage, traffic flow) benefit from quantum circuit expressibility for multi-modal sensor data, though gradient boosting and LSTM models remain competitive on current benchmarks. This workshop works through all three areas with specific formulations, runs benchmark-specific performance comparisons, and maps the timeline for quantum advantage in each use case.

What participants cover

Quantum-enhanced agent-based modelling: parameterised quantum circuits as surrogate models for agent decision functions in population mobility simulation
QAOA for land use optimisation: zoning allocation, infrastructure placement, and density targets formulated as QUBO problems with transport accessibility constraints
QML for digital twin analytics: VQC architectures for energy demand, water usage, and traffic flow prediction from multi-modal city sensor feeds
NISQ limitations: qubit counts, circuit depth, and noise levels that determine which urban planning problems fit on near-term hardware (50-100 qubits)
Classical baselines: benchmark-specific performance comparisons against MATSim, Gurobi, gradient boosting, and LSTM on matched urban planning instances
Hybrid workflows: inserting quantum subroutines into CityGML and FIWARE NGSI-LD digital twin pipelines alongside classical HPC simulation

Preliminary Agenda

Full Day Workshop structure with scheduled breaks. Content is configurable to your organisation's technical level and operational environment.

#	Session	Topics
1	Urban Simulation as a Computational Problem Where classical simulation hits scaling limits in city planning
2	Quantum-Enhanced Agent-Based Modelling QML for population mobility and urban flow simulation	Agent-based models for urban systems: population movement, commuter flows, and pedestrian dynamics at city scale with 100,000+ agents Quantum machine learning for agent behaviour prediction: parameterised quantum circuits as surrogate models for agent decision functions NISQ reality check: current hardware handles roughly 20-50 qubit circuits, limiting agent model complexity. Classical ABM tools (MATSim, SUMO) remain the production standard.
Break, after 50 min
3	Quantum Optimisation for Land Use Planning QUBO formulations for zoning, density, and infrastructure placement	Land use allocation as a combinatorial optimisation problem: zoning constraints, density targets, and transport accessibility as QUBO penalty terms QAOA for infrastructure placement: school, hospital, and transit stop location optimisation under population growth scenarios Benchmark-specific performance comparisons: QAOA on 50-100 variable zoning instances versus Gurobi and simulated annealing on equivalent problems
4	Interactive Demonstration Quantum-enhanced digital twin predictive analytics	Facilitator-led demonstration of a parameterised quantum circuit predicting energy demand patterns from a city digital twin sensor feed Comparing VQC prediction accuracy against gradient boosting and LSTM baselines on a 12-month urban energy consumption dataset Interpreting results: where quantum circuit expressibility adds value for multi-modal city data and where classical ML is sufficient
Break, after 45 min
5	Digital Twin Integration and NISQ Constraints Connecting quantum models to existing city data platforms	CityGML, FIWARE NGSI-LD, and digital twin data pipelines: where quantum processing modules can be inserted into existing city platform architectures Qubit count requirements: urban planning problems that fit on near-term hardware (50-100 qubits) versus those requiring fault-tolerant machines (2028+ timeline) Hybrid classical-quantum workflows: using quantum subroutines for specific simulation bottlenecks while classical HPC handles the broader model
6	Q&A and Research Roadmap

Designed and Delivered By

Workshops are designed and delivered by QSECDEF in collaboration with sector specialists. All facilitators have direct experience in both quantum technologies and smart city systems.

QSECDEF brings world-leading expertise in post-quantum cryptography, quantum computing strategy, and defence-grade security assessment. Our advisory membership spans 600+ organisations and 1,200+ professionals working at the intersection of quantum technologies and critical infrastructure security.

Smart City workshops are co-delivered with sector specialists who bring direct operational experience in smart city organisations. This ensures workshop content is grounded in regulatory, operational, and technical realities specific to the sector.

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Sessions are configured around your organisation's technical level, operational environment, and regulatory jurisdiction. Get in touch to discuss requirements and schedule a date.

Quantum technologies are evolving quickly and new developments emerge regularly. This page was last updated on 15/03/2026. For the most current information about course content and suitability for your organisation, we recommend contacting us directly.

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