The City of Hannover, operating under its Restart: #HANnovativ Smart City initiative, developed a virtual reality digital twin of the city as a public engagement and urban planning tool. Built on Unreal Engine and accessible via a web-hosted map platform at stadtmodell-prod4.hannover-stadt.de, the application allows residents and stakeholders to visualise proposed changes to the city's Prinzenstraße in an immersive three-dimensional environment.

The project was developed by the Fachbereich Planen und Stadtentwicklung (Planning and Urban Development) department in coordination with the Taskforce Digitalisierung (Digitalization Task Force). It was publicly demonstrated at Maker Faire Hannover 2025 in July 2025, where visitors could experience the VR digital twin at Booth 101 in the Eilenriedehalle alongside other Smart City demonstrations.

The broader #HANnovativ initiative encompasses a range of digital public services and innovation projects, including assistive technology showcases for senior citizens and digital literacy programmes delivered through the Freizeitheim Vahrenwald. The Hannover city model VR experience represents the initiative's application of spatial computing to participatory urban planning, enabling citizens to engage directly with proposed streetscape changes before implementation.