Cities of the Future

Tag: Barcelona

  • Europe’s GDPR Slaps Data Collected by Cities

    Cities collecting personally identifiable data, by the government or through any third party, are responsible to abide by the GDPR rules, just like any other organization collecting data. Courtesy of Mayor of London office The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) is the most discussed piece of legislation in information technology. It […]

  • Europe Will Lag Behind in 5G Adoption

    Despite the efforts of the European Commission, and the EU sponsored 5G Public Private Partnership (5GPPP), the initial large rollout of 5G networks will not happen in the old continent, but in markets such as China and the US, then in several Asian countries such as Japan and South Korea, and then finally in Europe. Visitors […]

  • Top European Court Declares Uber is a Taxi Service

    Top European Court Declares Uber is a Taxi Service

    The ruling has major implications for on-demand transport services across the European Union.

  • Cities Commit to become Emissions Neutral by 2050

    The mayors of 25 pioneering cities, representing 150 million citizens, have pledged to develop and begin implementing more ambitious climate action plans before the end of 2020 to deliver emissions neutral and climate resilient cities by 2050. These plans will ensure the cities deliver on their share of emissions reductions required to realize the ambition of […]

  • Autonomous Cars Will Turn Back the Clock on Sustainable Cities

    Autonomous mobility could become the most important business in the 21st century. By Diablanco (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons Within the next 10 years autonomous cars could reverse the trend to free cities from private vehicles, instead flooding the streets with even more cars, undermining public transit, and leaving no space for other uses. The companies […]

  • Tips for MWC attendees

    Tips for MWC attendees

    It is that time of the year again. The Mobile World Congress (MWC), the biggest technology exhibition and conference in the world, starts in Barcelona tomorrow. This weekend thousands of delegates, exhibitors, press, security and service personnel, are arriving in the Catalan capital city for the event. Some of the main activities have already started. Today, […]

  • Airbnb still at odds with Barcelona City, who call its new rule for hosts “a joke”

    Airbnb still at odds with Barcelona City, who call its new rule for hosts “a joke”

    After Barcelona City Council conducted inspections and imposed sanctions on illegal tourist rentals in the city, Airbnb responded by announcing restrictions on multiple listings in the downtown area. Map of Airbnb Listings in Barcelona (Dec. 2016) — Source: Inside Airbnb In its press release, the company said hosts located in Barcelona’s Ciutat Vella (Old City) district would only be […]

  • Barcelona Needs Swift Action Against Pollution

    The capital of Catalunya is suffering from persistent high pollution due to car density and the largest number of motorcycles of any European city. City administrators, while acknowledging the seriousness of the problem, have been unwilling to take any action that would upset drivers. This week I was pleasantly surprised to see a new campaign on […]

  • Barcelona tackles its traffic, pollution with parking policies and superblocks

    Barcelona tackles its traffic, pollution with parking policies and superblocks

    Cities of the Future talks to Barcelona’s mobility guru, Mercedes Vidal, about how the high pollution levels that are pushing the city to rethink heavy traffic flows, provide faster more efficient public transport and hike up parking fees. Last week, the city of Madrid had to trigger its high-pollution protocol Level 2 due to dangerous levels […]

  • No Free Parking — Leave Your Car At Home

    No Free Parking — Leave Your Car At Home

    Free and cheap parking is expensive for cities. It becomes a pull factor for commuters to bring their cars every day, together with the pollution they create, traffic congestion, accidents and lost revenue for public transport.