An innovative solution for historic centres

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SHCity has developed a solution seeking to improve the management of historic centres ©Daniel Basulto Garcia-Risco

" The Smart Heritage City project addresses the need for comprehensive management of historic urban centres in order to avoid their deterioration due to natural and human factors. In particular, it strives to provide solutions to problems resulting from mass tourism in historic cities. This means moving from reactive to proactive management. The project has developed surveillance technologies, artificial intelligence and tools to aid decision-making, enabling municipal administrators to have useful data and information at their disposal to manage the city. "

SHCity has developed a solution seeking to improve the management of historic centres, by facilitating their maintenance, their conservation, energy savings, tourist management and decision-making.

The technology was tested in Avila, a city classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A network of sensors placed at different locations in the historic centre enables environmental and structural parameters to be measured in real time, as well as those linked to safety, energy consumption and visitor flow.

Promoting sustainable tourism

The project responds to the innovative challenge to develop a unique open source tool to manage historic city centres. Its objective is to supply the competent authorities with a tool that facilitates decision-making regarding the preservation and maintenance of historic sites and the development of sustainable tourism, while optimising the work of the organisations which manage it.

The Smart Heritage City (SHCity) solution enables the various data collected in the historic centre to be processed in order to monitor and react to risks that affect the buildings and their environment, as well as enabling energy consumption and visitor flows to be managed. It comprises a range of tools developed thanks to new technologies and an in-depth knowledge of heritage management at the urban level.

For an intelligent management of the sites

The project, based on a network of sensors deployed in different strategic points around the city, enables environmental and structural parameters to be measured in real time, as well as others linked to safety, energy consumption and visitor flow. The information collected is processed and converted into indicators that feed two software programmes.

The first is a self-diagnostic tool capable of generating warnings and providing automatic responses and recommendations for management decision-making. It enables intervention in situations likely to compromise the integrity of the historic centre. The second tool is a mobile application enabling the intelligent management of tourism. It proposes dynamic itineraries based on several indicators: occupation of the location, flow of people, monument opening times, evaluation of locations and events.

SHCity has forwarded the project results to the public administrations, with an information and training plan. Furthermore, a web page www.shcity.eu has been launched. This enables public administrations and the public to debate this initiative.  A free public guide explains how to reproduce the management system and how to establish it in each area according to its own characteristics.

The project has given rise to the creation of approximately 30 jobs.

Total investment and EU funding

Total investment for the “Smart Heritage City” project is EUR 1 194 333; the European Regional Development Fund contribution is EUR 895 750 through the Interreg V-B Southwest (SUDOE V-B) programme  for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the "Jobs, growth and investment" priority.

Draft date