Blockchain-Enabled City Information Modeling Framework for Urban Asset Management

Abstract

Object-based modeling has become an integral and more preferred design approach as against two-dimensional (2D) design representation. This is evident in the increased use of building information modeling (BIM) for building design and city information modeling (CIM) for city planning and development. However, the development and management of object-based city models are often siloed and do not coexist in a virtual environment. Urban infrastructure is often designed in isolation, yet it forms part of an integrated network of assets in real life. Blockchain is one of several technologies that has been integrated with BIM because of its transparent and tamper-proof features. This research proposes a framework for the lifecycle management of buildings and other urban assets by integrating blockchain technology (BCT) into a heterogenous CIM of multiowned assets using a nested, multilevel data environment. First, the BIM is synchronized into a GIS scene for geospecificity, then the BIM metadata is written onto a blockchain protocol distributing the model information across a network of project collaborators using a common data environment (CDE). The resultant CIM is then shared through an outer layered city level CDE. Use case scenarios are presented to validate the functionality of the proposed approach, and research limitations are discussed. The framework enables the critical interproject or interasset communication which is otherwise impossible in traditional approaches where individual assets are designed as stand-alone models.