Just over three years after its launch, Alcoy's Urban Sandbox has solidified its position as one of Spain's foremost municipal ecosystems for technological experimentation. To date, 21 companies, universities, technology centers, and institutions have joined the framework agreement promoted by the City Council, while 14 specific projects are currently underway or have been successfully completed. This ecosystem transforms Alcoy into a laboratory for validating innovative solutions under real-world conditions before their market introduction, establishing the city as a national benchmark in urban innovation and public-private collaboration.
The Urban Sandbox was established in March 2023 with the clear objective of opening the city to innovation and facilitating the experimentation with new products, services, or technologies capable of improving citizens' quality of life. Since then, the project has continuously grown, bringing together an ever-wider network of entities and a portfolio of initiatives spanning artificial intelligence, sustainable mobility, digitalization of public services, circular economy, efficient water management, IoT technologies, and the application of blockchain technology to public administration.
One of the key strengths of the model developed by the City Council is its open and transversal nature. Unlike other sandboxes specialized solely in mobility, energy, or telecommunications, Alcoy's allows for project development in virtually any field of knowledge and across the entire municipal area. Streets, public buildings, industrial estates, or natural parks can become real-world scenarios for validating innovative solutions, always under a transparent legal framework and at no economic cost to the City Council.
The entities affiliated to date with the Urban Sandbox framework agreement include Primlab, Aigües de València, Grupo PF Seguridad Vial, Universitat Politècnica de València, Universitat d'Alacant, Innovatec, FCC Aqualia, and the Xarxa d'Instituts Tecnològics de la Comunitat Valenciana (REDIT), among others. All have found in Alcoy an ideal environment to develop, test, and validate innovative solutions before their commercial implementation.
Among the ongoing projects, the digitalization of the sanitary-hygienic control of the Eduardo Latorre Municipal Sports Complex stands out, using sensors and AI to anticipate risks. Another project by Primlab has validated a photocatalytic paint capable of eliminating atmospheric pollutants in indoor spaces, achieving an average pollution reduction of 6.1%.
In smart mobility, the Smart Zones project, with Coding the Curbs, has turned Alcoy into a testing ground for a new digital management model for loading and unloading zones. The LedCone Connected project by Erum Vial is also being developed, featuring smart cones for real-time incident geolocation and improved road safety.
The Universitat d'Alacant has developed AL-COIN, a municipal digital currency based on permissioned blockchain technology to boost local commerce. Other projects focus on intelligent monitoring of hydraulic infrastructure, LoRaWAN municipal infrastructure for IoT devices, and artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics tools for municipal management.
Universities and research centers are also driving pilots in artificial intelligence, sustainability, and knowledge transfer. The City Council supports entities with technical and legal advice, facilitating the implementation of tests and reducing timelines.
The Sandbox's accumulated experience has led to new municipal projects, such as the initiative on unmanned aerial vehicles, and has enabled Alcoy to participate in the Red Innpulso network to promote a national network of urban sandboxes with European funding.
The mayor and innovation councilor, Toni Francés, highlighted that «The Urban Sandbox demonstrates that a medium-sized city can position itself at the forefront of innovation if it is capable of opening its public spaces to talent, research, and collaboration between administrations, companies, and universities. Every project that arrives in Alcoy not only tests a technology but also generates knowledge, attracts investment, drives opportunities for our business fabric, and helps us provide better public services. Our goal is to continue consolidating Alcoy as a national benchmark for urban innovation and as a place where future solutions can be developed before anywhere else.»
The Urban Sandbox is part of the municipal innovation strategy of the Alcoy City Council, funded by IVACE+i and European funds. The city also participates in the working group on experimentation spaces of the Xarxa Innpulso.
