# Metaverse Meets Smart Cities--Applications, Benefits, and Challenges
## 1 Introduction  
The metaverse aims to merge the virtual world with the real world. The target is to generate a web of virtual communities where social components play a crucial role and combine different areas such as entertainment, work, shopping, and services [1]. The metaverse is not a new concept. [PERSON] explained the metaverse in his 1992 novel _\"Snow Crash\"_[2]. The metaverse is an accumulation of various topics that have become increasingly popular in recent years due to technical and social developments [3]. Applications have existed for many years, particularly in gaming, where virtual worlds and avatars interact with digital objects. Due to the current transformation of Web 2.0 to Web 3.0, the metaverse is increasingly focused, as it implements essential elements such as decentralization and openness from the ground up [4]. This is reflected in the interest of the economy, as large companies and governments are investing huge sums in the development of the metaverse. For example, the Republic of Korea invested around 185 million US dollars in 2022 to build a metaverse ecosystem and metaverse infrastructure that is reliable for users and local companies [5]. Social change is contributing to the development of the metaverse, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need for virtual applications and their connection to the physical world, as well as the opportunities that digital life offers [6]. For example, regardless of location, users can view digital twins in virtual reality environments with business partners worldwide or experience virtual, interactive festivals and events in their favorite computer game [7]. The interest in the metaverse is also reflected in the growing interest of large tech companies. In October 2021, for example, the social media company Facebook changed its name to Meta [8]. The steadily increasing number of users [3] indicates the acceptance and development of the medium. Gaming and gaming applications make up the majority of metaverse applications available on the market todate [9]. Virtual retail spaces are also popular with significant brands [10]. Components such as avatars, digital objects, goods, and interaction and communication options play a vital role in the applications. Services, social meeting places, digital currencies, works of art, properties, buildings, and other 3D models, which are, in part, digital images of reality, are integrated into the virtual worlds to expand the range of functions [3]. Technological progress is constantly producing innovations and technologies that enable the development of innovative applications in the context of the metaverse. Increasingly powerful computer architectures, optimized operating systems, intelligent programs, and artificial intelligence enable developments that make the intersection of virtual and physical worlds increasingly real. Machine learning and artificial intelligence are currently enabling cross-industry technical advances. For example, direct voice communication with computer-controlled avatars is possible through the automated processing of human speech. Automatically generating content and optimizing applications and models is becoming increasingly easy [11]. One area in which the metaverse has great potential is the area of cities and municipalities. A smart city is often defined as leveraging information and communication technologies to increase the quality of life, resource efficiency, and sustainability [12; 13; 14]. Cities have been transforming in recent years, driven by the wave of digitalization and the coronavirus crisis, which led to the digitalization of processes and automation of procedures. Smart cities use data enriched with experience and information to make various areas smarter and derive insights [15]. While many large cities have already implemented smart city applications, small- and medium-sized cities and municipalities are currently undergoing digital transformation.