Paula Llobet emphasizes that this recognition “consolidates Valencia as a leader in urban innovation and validates the public-private partnership model promoted by the city.”
Valencia’s Urban Sandbox has been awarded the Becsa Prize for Best Project for Urban Resilience and the Promotion of Sustainable Solutions at the First Congress on Innovation in Construction, Building, Infrastructure, and Concessions (IC2), held this month in Santander. “This award highlights the role of this municipal tool as a real-world testing ground for the development and validation of innovative solutions aimed at improving sustainability, quality of life, and cities’ adaptation to the challenges of the future,” as stated today by Paula Llobet, Councilwoman for Tourism, Innovation, and Investment Attraction.
Specifically, the jury at the conference highlighted “the ability of the Valencia Urban Sandbox to promote innovative projects related to urban resilience and sustainability and to establish the city as a national and international leader in innovation applied to the urban environment,” the councilwoman noted.
Support for Open Innovation
Paula Llobet described this recognition as “an endorsement of the open innovation model promoted by Valencia, where the city serves as a living laboratory for testing solutions that address major urban challenges.”
“This award demonstrates that collaboration between government, businesses, universities, and startups or emerging companies yields tangible results. The Urban Sandbox helps accelerate the introduction of innovations into public spaces and improve people’s lives through real, measurable solutions,” said the councilwoman.
Llobet also emphasized that “Valencia is building an innovation ecosystem capable of attracting talent, investment, and high-impact projects, and this national recognition confirms that we are heading in the right direction.”
The Urban Sandbox is part of the València Innovation Capital strategy and allows companies, startups, technology centers, and innovative organizations to test their solutions under real-world conditions, using urban resources and spaces throughout the city to validate technologies and business models before implementing them on a large scale. “This initiative has established itself as one of the city’s main tools for promoting applied innovation and urban transformation,” Llobet noted.
On Technological Transformation, Sustainability, and Resilience
The councilwoman noted that “the IC2 Congress is one of the leading national events dedicated to innovation in construction, building, and infrastructure, bringing together more than 600 experts, companies, universities, and institutions to analyze the challenges of technological transformation, sustainability, and urban resilience”; and she affirmed that “with this recognition, Valencia reinforces its position as a leading city in urban innovation and in the development of solutions that contribute to building more sustainable, efficient, and resilient environments capable of facing the social, economic, and climate challenges of the future.”