In the new episode of the podcast, in which Vila Nova de Famalicão is described as a ‘benchmark for urban innovation and sustainable mobility’, the Municipal Director of the Famalicão local authority, Vítor Moreira, was categorical in defining the authority's philosophy. "What makes Famalicão a Smart City is its people. The city is smart because of the people it has, and technology should be almost invisible, serving only to make the experience better and better."

One of the central pillars of this strategy, he says, is the transition from perception-based governance to management based on rigorous metrics, combating what he calls ‘guesswork’. Through investment in video analytics, sensorisation and counting systems, the municipality is now able to monitor traffic flows, parking status and even water losses in real time. ‘Today, we already have data that allows us to work based on reality,’ he explained, emphasising that this precision allows for much more effective decisions for the territory.

When addressing the complexity of urban management, Vítor Moreira used the analogy of a ‘magic cube’ to describe the interdependence between the six fundamental areas of a smart city: mobility, economy, environment, lifestyles, people and governance. In the case of Vila Nova de Famalicão, which is the third largest exporting municipality in the country, strong industrial activity generates complex mobility challenges.
Data from 2023 reveals that around 75 million journeys were made in the municipality, with more than 90% being made in private cars, which increased CO2 emissions to 157,000 tonnes. To counter this trend, the local authority monitors the rotation of free peripheral car parks, encouraging soft mobility and pedestrian routes.

Transparency is another central element of this vision, materialised through the “Observatório Famalicão”, a public platform - https://b-smart.famalicao.pt/observatoriofamalicao/ - that makes thousands of demographic and mobility data available to any citizen.

The local authority representative concluded by emphasising that the future of the municipality also depends on regional cooperation, integrating a collaborative network with Barcelos, Esposende, Vila Verde, Vieira do Minho, Amares and Terras de Bouro. ‘This territory, which stretches from the sea to the mountains, has many different realities and it is very interesting to see how we are going to help each other to lay the foundations for a city that better responds to the aspirations of the population,’ he concluded.