On Tuesday, November 13, within the Smart City Expo World Congress 2012 Barcelona City Council presented the City Protocol Society, the Global Alliance that was created with the support of more than 50 cities, companies, universities and research centers from around the world to define a global, cooperative framework among cities, industries and institutions with the goal to address urban challenges in a systemic way in areas such as sustainability, self-sufficiency, quality of life, competitiveness and citizen participation.
IAAC was one of the main promotors of this proposal, and since 2010 is working in many projects and research related to this city protocol.
What is a city protocol?
City Protocol is a new open, global, and progressive working framework for cities worldwide to assess and improve performance in environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, quality of life and city services, by innovating and demonstrating new leadership models, new ways or engaging society and by taking advantage of new information and communication technologies (ICT).

City Protocol will involve reports, standards, certification systems, services definition, best practices and recommendations to turn cities into more innovative and sustainable environments. This will be possible due to the use of technologies in different fields including information, communication, energy, mobility, construction and waste management. Governments, councils, planners and developers looking to transform urban centers into smart cities may put the protocol into practice. Well known as an innovative and smart city, Barcelona has been the driving force behind the project, being an example of a real model for intelligent solutions. Cities will benefit from its participation by achieving real improvements; companies will better understand the structure and management of cities in order to collaborate with them; and education institutions, research centers and also non-profit organizations will be able to more precisely study urban problems and propose solutions. City Protocol Society was promoted June 2012 in Barcelona. More than 50 cities, companies and academic institutions around the world have shown interest in participating. After two days of intense work the society met again in San Francisco last month of October 2012 where defined the project, its objectives and its vision.
Member of City Protocol Society
CITIES:
Barcelona, Seül, Dublín, Bristol, Buenos Aires, Quito, Helsinki, Busan, Torino, Lyon, Amsterdam, Derby, Yokohama, Sant Cugat, Tarragona, Cornellà, Livorno, Santander.
COMPANIES:
CISCO, Capgemini, GdF, INDRA, IBM, HP, Schneider, Microsoft, Grupo Etra, AGBAR, ORACLE, CitiGroup, Abertis, Telefonica, Televent, Endesa. ERF.
ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS:
UPC Barcelona Tech, URV, UPF, UdG, UChicago, University at Albany, Younsei University, Rutgers University, IESE, ESADE, London School of Economics (LSE).
WORLDWIDE ORGANISATIONS:
Major Cities of Europe, Green Building Council, Ecocity Builders, European Network of Living Labs, Living Labs Global, IAAC, Metropolis, Port de Barcelona, Localret, CIDEU.