Sensors, LED lights, charging points: the second life of abandoned spaces in cities

In the digital age, urban spaces have transformed and, in some cases, scaled down. This is the case, for example, of the public billposting systems, which have fallen into disuse because the Municipalities do not have the necessary resources to exploit this means of communication towards citizens. Law 160 of 2019 has also abolished the obligation for administrations to have similar systems, but it is still necessary to guarantee the possibility of displaying posters on an adequate number of structures. A stalemate has thus occurred: several Municipalities have many old systems which, even if used only for communications of a social nature, require maintenance and, if not exploited, become abandoned skeletons. In this segment Enel Xan Enel company dedicated to innovative energy efficiency services, has decided to enter the company together with Polevision with an offer dedicated precisely to Pa to digitize spaces and make them data collection points through sensors to improve services and learn more about the area.

The solution is taken care of by the business line Urban Asset Valorisation Of Enel X and it has already been tested in Corso Francia in Rome, where an abandoned area has been taken over and transformed into the first super-fast charging station for electric vehicles, enhanced by LED systems positioned in the upper part of the building.

There digitization of these spaces also involves the presence of a new electrical connection point where before there was only paper and glue. This makes it possible to power the advertising LED but also to install sensors that collect data useful for the area. An example is visible ad Assago Milano FioriWhere Enel X has installed 6 LEDs on as many public lighting systems creating the first circuit of digital billposting on light poles useful for business communication but also for the administration to talk to citizens and obtain data that allow for better planning of work on the city.

In this case, the Municipality accesses a dashboard on which it receives information on road conditions, traffic, flows in pedestrian areas, the number of tourists or visitors during events. This data is collected and processed in compliance with privacy legislation, and constitutes a valuable source for rethinking or reorganizing spaces as needed. Such solutions can be implemented both in large cities and in small municipalities: this is the case with Knownin Sicilywhere thanks to a synergistic work with the public administration Enel X is implementing a project to enhance the territory which is based on the modernization and digitization of some existing plants and the installation of new ones.

The obstacles that normally prevent the Municipalities from intervening are mainly the lack of funds. Enel X makes available to them the direct assignment, the negotiated procedure and the project financing. In all cases, the company takes charge of the investment and takes care of installing the systems, managing and maintaining them.