Ermua Town Council and TECNALIA launch a social and technological innovation plan to boost the Santa Ana neighbourhood
- The initiative, which is currently underway, involves the development of a methodology that favours the social and economic development of the environment by improving accessibility and implementing energy efficiency measures and digitalisation tools to improve the quality of life for residents
- This is being done by identifying the needs, challenges and opportunities of the neighbourhood through the participation of residents
- This methodology will be applied in the Santa Ana neighbourhood, and the aim is to replicate the model in other similar contexts at a regional, national and even European level
Bilbao, 27th December 2022. Ermua Town Council and the research and technological development centre, TECNALIA, are collaborating to set up a social and technological innovation plan to boost the Santa Ana neighbourhood. The new needs of neighbourhoods require them to be adapted to modern standards of sustainability, accessibility and usability, as well as the demands of their residents.
The Town Council and TECNALIA have launched a plan, which is currently underway, that involves the design of a methodology that favours the social and economic development of the environment by improving accessibility and implementing energy efficiency measures and digitalisation tools to improve the quality of life for residents. To carry it out, the needs, challenges and opportunities of the neighbourhood will be identified through the participation of residents.
Furthermore, this process will be enriched by other similar experiences carried out in the city of Elva in Estonia, as a digitally advanced city, and the city of Matera in Italy, as a reference city in cultural and creative industries.
This methodology will be applied in the Santa Ana neighbourhood as of February 2023. The aim is to replicate this model in other similar contexts at a regional, national and even European level, and thanks to the results obtained from the study in the Ermua neighbourhood, create smart, inclusive, energy-efficient and more accessible municipalities.
Collaboration between Ermua Town Council and TECNALIA
This initiative represents the continuity of the collaboration between Ermua Town Council and TECNALIA. They started working together a year ago to create an experimentation environment for the companies in the Izarra Centre IoT Lab and others in the area to simulate and test applications of technological solutions prior to their real deployment and commercialisation.
The project, supported by the Horizon Europe programme (GA nº101080025) of the European Union, has the collaboration of the Economic Promotion of Ermua (Promosa), Mondragon Goi Eskola Politeknikoa, the Estonian Union of Housing Cooperatives (EKYL), the Institute of Baltic Studies, Consorzio Materahub Industrie Culturali e Creative, Housing Europe and the cities of Elva (Estonia) and Matera (Italy).
About Ermua Town Council
It is a Local Administration with a proactive and enterprising vocation, with a character marked by its geographical and border location, which has an innovation strategy that has enabled it to be recognised as a City of Science and Innovation, awarded by the Ministry: it has been a pioneer in deploying the first neutral municipal high-speed fibre optic network to the home (FTTH) in the Basque Autonomous Community.
All operators can operate in this area for a fee. It has also set up the Izarra Centre, with a business incubator, to develop a new economic fabric, attract talent and digitalise our economy. This building houses the first IoT(Internet of Things ) demonstration laboratory in the Basque Country and Spain. This space offers a catalogue of solutions that allow cities and companies to be more competitive and efficient in the management of their resources.
About TECNALIA
TECNALIA is the largest applied research and technological development centre in Spain, a European benchmark and member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance. It works with companies and institutions to increase their competitiveness, improve quality of life of people and achieve sustainable growth. This is possible thanks to people who are passionate about technology and committed to building a better society.
The centre’s main scopes of action are Digital Transformation, Smart Manufacturing, Energy Transition, Sustainable Mobility, Urban Ecosystem, Personalised Health and Circular Economy.
