The expansion of new technologies and the concept of smart cities have gone beyond the scope of large cities. Increasingly, small and medium-sized municipalities are looking to implement innovative and sustainable solutions that improve the well-being of their inhabitants. In this sense, the Universitat de València (UV), through the Insitute of Robotics and Information and Communication Technologies (IRTIC), y Valencia Provincial Council –entities that have been collaborating for years– have just strengthened their relationship with the creation of the new Chair of Intelligent and Sustainable Territories.

The aim is to address contemporary challenges of cities and territories, promoting a holistic approach combining technology, citizen participation and sustainable resource management.

Through this chair directed by Juan José Martínez Durá, professor in the UV Department of Computer Science and researcher in charge of the LISITT (Integrated Laboratory of Intelligent Systems and Traffic Information Technologies) group at IRTIC, the University of Valencia and the Provincial Council of Valencia seek to generate knowledge applicable to improving the quality of life of people in the territories they inhabit.

The Chair, which is a bridge between the academic world and public administrations, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and the implementation of effective policies, will carry out training, dissemination and technological consultancy activities in the field of intelligence and territorial sustainability.

It is worth highlighting the promotion of the Connecta-Valencia platform among the municipalities of the province, a service provided by the Provincial Council of Valencia that integrates data from sensors installed in the municipalities, incorporating meteorological, mobility, air quality, parking and noise index information, among other data; offering integrated information through dashboards, providing tools for data analysis and allowing the information collected to be exported through an open data portal.

Among the goals of the new chair is also the identification of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators, to be applied within the territory of the province of Valencia, in order to assess progress towards the creation of sustainable cities and territories.