Alba Iulia started the developing of the Smart City strategy

Digital transformation has become a need and a priority in public administrations that pursue a strategic approach to digitizing public services, increasing the standard of living, and focusing on people's well-being. After a period of two years dedicated to extensive actions to support, test and pilot smart cities solutions within the Alba Iulia Smart City pilot project, Alba Iulia started the elaboration of the digitalization and Smart City strategy of the municipality, a procedure carried out by public tender within the framework of the project "Alba Iulia Municipality – Intelligent Administration", having the Cluj IT Cluster Association as the provider of the strategic document. The process of drafting the strategic document will follow the 11 priority vertical directions of Alba Iulia for the next period of development of the urban ecosystem.

"Developing a smart city strategy is not a simple matter. Many imagine it's about IT. Indeed, IT is the key part of the problem, but the foundation of a fair smart city strategy involves multi-professional expertise. Cluj IT brings to this project a team of over 40 experts in all fields that define the verticals of a smart city, from urban planning, to education, tourism, business environment and innovation, administration, utilities, mobility, safety, energy, health, environment, and horizontal IT with artificial intelligence. Through this project we want to demonstrate, once again, that the strategy for a smart city is not limited to a sum of IT projects, but to an integrated and interoperable approach. In this approach, digital technologies are part of the processes necessary for the structural transformation of an urban community in order to be more focused to increasing the quality of life, and also to prepare citizens for the challenges associated with sustainable economic growth, and in harmony with the natural environment", said Stelian Brad, President of Cluj IT Cluster.

In this context, Alba Iulia ranks at the top of the list of smart cities based on a strategy that pursues a vision with realistic targets in terms of urban development. The development of the Smart City Strategy for Alba Iulia marks the third collaboration of its kind between the Cluj IT Innovative Cluster and a public authority, having contributed to the implementation of the digitalization strategies for Oradea Municipality (2016) and the Cluj County Council (2019). The Alba Iulia Smart City strategy will be handed over to the municipality in 2021. Starting then all the municipality`s projects will have to connect to this strategic document.

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"Find your Greatness" is a URBACT project in which 7 European cities - Braganca (Portugal), Voru (Estonia), Wroclaw (Poland), Candelaria (Spain), Perugia (Italy), Limerick (Ireland), Budafok (Hungary), together with the Municipality of Alba Iulia as the lead partner, aim to consolidate urban brands built on the potential and local values ​​of the cities. The project also aims to create the first European strategic program to build the city brand focused on the smart city concept.