Inspired by the mySMARTLife Cities Network, the Municipality of Funchal on the island of Madeira has been pursuing a sustainable vision that includes urban rehabilitation, territorial cohesion, technological innovation, energy efficiency, multimodality regarding transport, mobility management and accessibility.
The city is profoundly marked by heightened slopes that force residents to settle in a very compacted area, hampering urban planning whilst causing constraints in terms of mobility and accessibility.
To overcome these spatial barriers, the Municipality has implemented several integrated actions such as urban refurbishment and car restriction policies that have led to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and subsequently to an increase of urban attractiveness whilst fostering walkability for all residents. Moreover, the Municipality has been promoting environmentally friendly modes of transport through the expansion of cycling infrastructures, the instalment of public recharge stations for electric vehicles and the implementation of actions to increase accessibility to public transport in the main catchment area.
Funchal has also been the test bed for the implementation of pilot projects such as sensorised crosswalks powered by renewable energy sources, the instalment of real time traffic counters and a digital mobility info-point targeted at residents as well as tourists. Most recently, a parking monitoring system, comprised of sensors and a LoRAWAN system, was implemented in the city core that gathers data in real time related to occupancy whilst providing users with information related to parking availability.
The efforts carried out by the Municipality have been continuously praised at national and European scale in which Funchal has become an exemplary city due to its good practices in terms of mobility, accessibility, energy efficiency and sustainability that led to a reduction of 27,3% of CO2 emissions in the last decade. In 2020, Funchal was distinguished with the CIVITAS LEGACY AWARD.
Funchal is one of 16 cities that are part of the mySMARTLife Cities Network. If you are interested in finding out more about this network, please have a look at our network section.
Read also the news article about mySMARTLife Network City Lappeenranta and how it Excels in Data driven Building Energy Management.
