UNE 37120 Sustainable development in cities

Certification solutions for Smart Cities: Indicators for services and quality in cities

The evaluation of compliance with ISO 37120, on Sustainable development in cities, is used as an essential benchmarking tool for territories, as it establishes a range of indicators for a city to become a Smart City, in relation to key themes such as governance, economics, education, environmental energy, waste, finances, etc. 

The Standard UNE 37120 applies to any city, municipality or local administration that measures its activities in a comparable and verifiable way, regardless of their size or location.

The evaluation of compliance with ISO 37120, on Sustainable development in cities, forms part of a group of key tools developed by experts in Intelligence on Territories and Cities, which contribute towards boosting Smart Territories.

The concept of a Smart Territory is consolidated as one of the basic elements of innovation strategies in territories, and is one of the priorities of the European Union's Horizon 2020 strategies. Spain will be a pioneering country in terms of innovation regarding smart territories, thanks to frameworks of reference to develop the management of smart territories, structured around a set of standards created in the CTN 178 on Smart Cities. This is a key point to consider when attracting private investments to territories, generating jobs and increasing GDP, productivity and quality of life.  

Becoming a smart territory impacts the management model of cities in various areas, such as those related to transparency, digital transformation, mobility, sustainability and economic development, etc. Therefore, in order to properly design public policies, it is important for problems to be anticipated. For this reason, innovation must work as a transverse axis in order to bring solutions to public ex-novo services and traditional services. 

Through assessing specific compliance in this area, AENOR contributes to the strategy of smart cities and territories, helping to evaluate the degree of implementation of the measures and actions that define them. 

Some of the most relevant standards are: 

• UNE 178303 on Open data.
• Smart Tourist Destinations, in accordance with standards UNE 178501 and UNE 178502,
• The evaluation of standards UNE 178201 and 178202, which establish the attributes and requirements for a city to be considered as a Smart City.
• The Standard UNE 178303 on Asset Management in the City.
• The development and advances of other standards are also highly important for smart cities and territories, such as UNE 178402  on Smart Ports, and UNE 178101 on Infrastructure, among others.