Case studies – Valencia · 2026–2028
Valencia.
Spain’s third-largest city and a recognised European Green Capital, Valencia combines an advanced smart-city ecosystem with an urgent, post-flood environmental challenge — making it a uniquely critical laboratory for PUREPOLIS soil and water pollution research.
830k
City inhabitants
2.5M
Metropolitan population
October 2024
Flood crisis
400+
Sustainability events per year
Context
A Mediterranean leader facing a post-flood crisis.
Valencia is Spain’s third-largest city, with 830,000 inhabitants (1.5 million in the urban area and 2.5 million in the metropolitan region). It is deeply committed to sustainability, operating under a strong multilevel regulatory framework: the national Climate Change and Energy Transition Law establishing Low Emission Zones (2025–2028), the Waste and Contaminated Land Law promoting the circular economy, and the local Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan.
As a participant in the European initiative “Smart and Climate Neutral Cities”, an awarded European Green Capital, and a signatory of the Green City Accord, Valencia is a recognised Mediterranean leader in green innovation. Its exceptional green infrastructure — including the Turia Gardens urban park and the Albufera Natural Park — positions the city as an ideal site to explore the correlation between environmental quality and human health.
Valencia also faces broader urban health trends: rising rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, linked in part to demographic ageing and air quality. PUREPOLIS will link its pollution and health analysis to the city’s long-term resilience strategy and the RESCLI Observatory for Climate Resilience and DANA management.
OCTOBER 2024 * A DEFINING EVENT
The flood that reshaped the agenda.
Following the devastating floods of October 2024, Valencia faces an urgent challenge with microplastic and heavy metal contamination in soil and water, primarily from runoff across southern districts including La Torre, Forn d’Alcedo and Castellar-l’Oliveral. Research teams from the Valencian regional government and the city council are already deployed in the Albufera, conducting microbiological analyses and toxicity tests. PUREPOLIS builds directly on this ongoing crisis response.
830K
City inhabitants
3rd
Largest city in Spain – European Green Capital
400+
Sustainability events per year
Water contamination
Post-flood runoff has introduced significant levels of heavy metals, organic substances and biological contaminants into the water systems of the Albufera and surrounding districts.
Microplastic pollution
Flood waters mobilised and deposited plastics and microplastics across southern Valencia, including into the Albufera Natural Park — posing acute risks to ecosystems and human health via the food chain.
Soil contamination
Contaminated sediments in flood-affected areas contain metals, Triphenyltin (TPT), and organic compounds that threaten both ecological integrity and the safety of traditional land uses including rice cultivation and fishing.
FOCUS AREA
L’Albufera : a key environmental battleground.
L’Albufera is a freshwater lagoon and natural park of outstanding ecological and cultural significance — a fundamental space for both environmental sustainability and the social and economic life of the region. The October 2024 floods have placed it at the centre of the PUREPOLIS Valencia case study.
Using Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring already deployed in the park, PUREPOLIS will evaluate ecosystem health as a proxy for pollution in water and soil — and as a measure of human health and wellbeing — following the One-Health approach.
- Microbiological analyses of sediments and water already underway by regional teams
- Toxicity testing for organic matter, metals and Triphenyltin (TPT) in progress
- IoT water-quality and ecosystem monitoring infrastructure in place
- Co-benefits for traditional activities: fishing, hunting, rice cultivation, boatmen
- Integration into the city’s open data dashboard for public and research use
OBJECTIVES & TARGETS
Three DAS objectives anchored in resilience.
The Valencia Dynamic Abatement Strategy (DAS) seeks not only to mitigate immediate flood damage, but to build lasting environmental resilience — integrating pollution science with climate adaptation and citizen co-benefits.
01
Flood protection & environmental recovery
Strengthen the resilience of L’Albufera and southern districts against future flood events, ensuring protection of the ecosystem and the human activities that depend on it, guided by rigorous pollution and health science.
02
Co-benefits for mobility & safety
Evaluate and enhance the co-benefits of Zero Pollution Measures — including Low Emission Zones and cycle infrastructure — for restoring mobility in flood-affected areas and reducing long-term pollution exposure.
03
Adapt to climate change
Promote ZPM co-benefits for the continuity of traditional economic activities in the Albufera — fishing, rice cultivation, hunting and boatmen — ensuring equitable transitions for all communities.
ZERO POLLUTION MEASURES
Evaluated interventions for a cleaner urban future.
Valencia’s ZPM programme combines gradual regulatory measures with post-flood infrastructure recovery. PUREPOLIS evaluates their multi-dimensional effectiveness using the PR6 Methods for ZPM Complexity Analysis.
SMART CITY OPPORTUNITIES
A city-scale digital innovation platform.
Valencia’s ZPM programme combines gradual regulatory measures with post-flood infrastructure recovery. PUREPOLIS evaluates their multi-dimensional effectiveness using the PR6 Methods for ZPM Complexity Analysis.
PUREPOLIS TOOLS APPLIED
The full toolkit in action.
Each core PUREPOLIS research package is deployed and tested in Valencia, with special emphasis on the digital innovation tools enabled by the city’s world-class smart-city ecosystem.
LOCAL PARTNER
Who makes it happen in Valencia
- Lead partner · Municipal authority
València Innovation Capital
The centre of social and urban innovation in Valencia, VIC is a public entity under the Delegation of Innovation of the Valencia City Council. It drives citizen-centred urban innovation under the Missions València 2030 strategy, coordinating PUREPOLIS implementation with the city and regional government.
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