© Innovation Service of the Valencia City CouncilValencia Urban Sandbox opens the city's streets, markets, and beaches to innovators, with over 50 pilot projects already tested across robotics, smart mobility, and urban services.
OPENING THE CITY TO EXPERIMENTATION
Created to overcome the barriers that often prevent innovation from reaching real-life environments, the Valencia Urban Sandbox enables startups, companies, universities, and organisations to test new ideas in public spaces across the city. Streets, markets, beaches, public buildings, and transport systems become controlled environments for experimentation. By providing access to infrastructure and technical support, Valencia allows innovators to validate solutions safely while giving the city early access to emerging technologies and services.
FROM REGULATOR TO INNOVATION PARTNER
The initiative transforms the relationship between public authorities and innovators. Rather than acting solely as a regulator, the city facilitates collaboration and experimentation, helping ideas move from concept to practical application. This approach allows municipal decisions to be informed by real-world experience rather than theory. By making public spaces available for testing, Valencia has created a framework that encourages cooperation between government, businesses, and universities while accelerating the development of solutions that respond to urban challenges.
BUILDING A EUROPEAN HUB FOR URBAN INNOVATION
More than 50 pilot projects have already been tested through the Urban Sandbox, covering areas such as robotics, smart mobility, environmental monitoring, tourism, and digital participation. Citizens benefit from improved services, while companies gain valuable opportunities to validate technologies before scaling them. The initiative strengthens collaboration across sectors and positions Valencia as a leading centre for innovation and experimentation. Through cooperation with other European cities, the model is also helping to promote a more open and innovative approach to urban development across Europe.
