The municipal by-law will regulate urban experimental spaces where these tests can be conducted, the aim being to validate innovative solutions with an impact in urban management. The initiative aims to establish a legal framework that facilitates testing and at the same time speeds up the processes that require experimental testing in real settings and which require different authorisations.

One aspect of the by-law already adopted by other cities in the Spanish state is that it includes all the types of experimentation spaces identified by the European Union, such as sandboxes, test beds and living labs. In terms of innovation and technology, a sandbox refers to a safe and controlled environment for testing and experimenting with new technologies, services and business models, without affecting users or the market in general. In a city, these might be conducted in physical spaces such as streets, or facilities such as offices, libraries and sports spaces, or city events such as music festivals, local annual festivals and sports events.

Barcelona thus consolidates its role as a living lab for urban innovation and transformation able to generate, absorb and scale up innovative and useful solutions for the city which can be replicated in other urban contexts.

The sector took part in the proposal for the by-law, the aim being to boost the capacity for adapting the regulation to future challenges and emerging technologies.