Sandbox Madrid participated in the 2030 Climate-Neutral Cities Forum, a conference on urban climate action held at the Madrid International Lab innovation center and organized by the Climate Action Observatory.
The Madrid City Council participated in the roundtable discussion titled “The Global Village: Citizenship as a Driving Force for Climate Transition,” which focused on how to incorporate citizens’ perspectives, needs, and active participation into the design of innovative solutions to address urban and climate challenges.
Alongside the Madrid City Council, representatives from REDS-SDSN Spain, the EU Climate Pact – Madrid 2050, and AlcoSanse por la Regeneración participated. The discussion focused on how to ensure that citizens move from being mere spectators to becoming active participants in the climate transition.
During the meeting, the Madrid City Council presented Sandbox Madrid as an innovative urban project that allows citizens to play a dual role: on the one hand, to drive and promote the testing of innovative solutions, and on the other, to participate in their validation under real-world conditions, thereby contributing to their development and improvement.
The first call for proposals from Sandbox Madrid focused on sustainability, the circular economy, and energy. Among the applications submitted, initiatives related to sustainability and improving the quality of urban life stood out. These included trials related to last-mile logistics, autonomous cleaning and maintenance robots, corridors for major events designed to reduce emissions, citizen collaboration platforms, and early detection of risks to trees during storms.
Sandbox Madrid helps bridge the gap between innovation and citizens by connecting those who develop solutions with spaces, services, and people. Citizen participation is thus key to determining whether these proposals effectively address the real needs of each district.
The forum also served as an opportunity to share experiences and perspectives on participatory learning, collaboration between universities and government agencies, energy communities, and the role of information as a starting point for climate action.