World Bank picks Barcelona to host CitiSense smart city forum

Barcelona (ACN).- The Catalan capital was chosen by the World Bank to host the CitiSense forum on the 17^th and the 18^th of November. Over 250 mayors and representatives from a hundred different countries were invited in order to share their knowledge and experience on smart cities, open innovation, energy saving and efficient mobility. Barcelona was chosen because it serves as a laboratory for both innovation and knowledge and also for its proud history among smart cities. In fact, the Catalan capital hosts an intense activity in this field and is working to build a smart-city industry cluster, hosting many research projects and one of the world’s main trade fairs, the Smart City Expo. By organizing the CitiSense forum, the World Bank was hopeful that other cities with a margin of “smart” growth would take advantage of the experience of more advanced cities such as Barcelona. The CitiSense forum was intentionally launched simultaneously with the Smart City Expo, which aims at promoting internationally the methods and projects in this field. Prior to the forum, a delegation of representatives from the participating cities visited various innovative businesses such as the ‘Ateneu de Fabricació de les Corts’ (a factory in Les Corts Neighbourhood in Barcelona), in order to get a first hand impression of the 3D-Printing industry along with other events such as the ‘Smart.Citizen.Me.’ forum on environmental and urban issues.

This initiative was part of the collaboration between the Catalan Capital and the World Bank, which followed a pre-agreement signed in May by Mayor of Barcelona Xavier Trias in the United States. The agreement aims at jointly developing a world hub of technology and urban innovation in Barcelona. The Catalan capital is already hosting each year the Mobile World Congress, the main international event of the mobile and cell phone industry. Furthermore, the city was declared the Mobile World Capital, hosting the Mobile World Hub, which should be transformed into an international flagship for the industry.

CitiSense congregated 250 representatives from 100 cities

CitiSense was attended by over 250 mayors and representatives of cities from a hundred different countries, who have shared their experience and knowledge with 69 experts. These experts have listened to their expectations and suggested different approaches and practices for each city. During the event, the World Bank presented a three-year plan aimed at increasing investments in energy efficiency and improving power-management in urban cities around the world.

Barcelona is committed to innovative public and private transportation

The World Bank chose Barcelona as the venue for the 2013 CitiSense in acknowledgment of their current position in the world of smart cities and for its dedication towards becoming a leader in such respect. Among the initiatives that are underway in the city are innovation applied to public transport, with the launching of the new orthogonal bus network, and their commitment to electric vehicles.

This November, the city also hosts two important fairs in the Electric Vehicle sector, notably the EVS27, the main international event in this field from the 17^th to the 20^th of November at the Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via venue. The Expoelèctric, which took place from the 16^th to the 17^th of November, also promoted electric cars by introducing the first electric taxi in Barcelona and offering test drives to its visitors in the vehicles of the market leaders.

Open Data for citizens and businesses

Barcelona aims at providing services that make the life of its citizens and businesses easier. In order to achieve this, the city has promoted Open Data, making information from the City Council available to citizens and businesses. At this time there are 278 datasets available.Hide Keyboard