A City that has entered the Age of Information

The City of Information, or rather of Knowledge, is a new kind of city. It goes beyond the intensive and extensive use of new information and communication technologies, and transforms social and business relations by placing a greater emphasis on people, for whom this knowledge is a principal asset. It is a city that generates innovation and variety through its capacity to integrate technology, education, culture, and natural and social resources into an interactive system that benefits both the whole and its parts.

Cities that have entered the age of information and of knowledge are cities where there is a high level of technological development, with networks for the diffusion of scientific ideas and innovation in the relations between science and technology and business. They are cities in which the benefits of the new technologies extend to the whole population (in terms of geographical, physical, intellectual and financial accessibility), where knowledge and creativity are the basic inputs, and where there is an increase in the number of businesses both offering and using the most advanced services.

Through its advanced technological infrastructures

The expansion of the fibre-optic cable network

Valencia was the first large city in Spain to adopt for widespread use a set of telecommunication infrastructures that were ahead of their time. In November of 1995, anticipating the later Spanish law on cable telecommunications, the Valencia City Council approved a public competition for the setting up of an advanced cable network which would facilitate the use of fibre-optic technology. By December of 2002, the company that was granted the license had covered 415,000 homes in the city4.

The extension of the New Technologies into all aspects of life in the city

The presence of computers and of Internet in the life of the population of Valencia has shown a marked increase over recent years. In 2000, 45% of homes in the city had a computer, a figure that has risen to 52% in 2003. More significant has been the rise in the number of homes with a connection to the Internet: from 14% in 2000 to 29% in 2003. With regard to mobile phone ownership, 78% of the population owns one mobile phone, and 60% two or more mobile phones.

Furthermore, the city of Valencia leads the Valencia Region in the use of new technologies. According to several studies the percentage of homes with a computer and of Internet users in the city of Valencia exceeds both that of the Valencia Region and the Spanish average.

77.8% of users in the city are connected to the Internet by means of an advanced connection system, while the Spanish average is 22.5%. 50% of users are connected by fibre-optic cable.

Pioneering projects for the democratization of the "Society of Information"

However, Valencia’s fame as a European city in the Age of Information is due to
the existence of the TICs and of advanced telecommunication services, and on the application of the new technologies to different aspects of city life (among other pioneering projects are"Infocole" in schools, and "Infoville" in the local and regional administrations). These have brought widespread international recognition and are shared with other cities in the region.

It is a fame built on collaboration between the city’s universities and the business sector; on pioneering projects for the democratization of the "Society of Information" such as Valencia.y@, which emerged from the Strategic Plan for Valencia and gives the population access to the Internet from libraries and social centres and offers training in the new technologies; on cultural infrastructures and educational centres such as the Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias; (City of Arts and Sciences); on the stance and attitude adopted by the citizens themselves in relation to the TICs and the "Society of Information"; for the introduction and the level of awareness of projects such as Valencia Sociedad de la Información, a round-table for citizens that has been in existence for four years and which aims to promote reflexion and debate among the population on the theme of the "Society of Information" and the "City of Knowledge", looking ahead to tackle the new issues that make Valencia a modern, innovative city.

The influence of the universities

In the context of the "City of Knowledge" universities take on a new, and more important, role. They are the "managers" of knowledge and as such become key social elements, elements of urban change. In the structure of the present day city, characterised by the production and diffusion of innovative knowledge, the univerisities’ policy of innovation is crucial.
On the one hand it fosters scientific and technological development, on the other the politics of education and learning.

Valencia is one of the main university cities in Europe, as much for the international recognition of the quality of its universities in the fields of teaching, academic study and research as for the importance of its student population, drawn from both in and outside the city. In this sense the European report "Urban Audit" (2000)10 puts Valencia among the most important university cities of the EC, with 128.4 places of higher and university education for every 1000 inhabitants, as opposed to the average for European capitals and cities which the report shows to be at 118.4.

The influence of the university on Valencia is therefore wide and intense, reflected in the large number of students who live in city. The ratio of university students per 1000 inhabitants is higher than that of other large cities in Spain, in spite of the general reduction in the number of students entering higher education.

Indeed, the number of university and post-university places in Valencia, measured by the number of students enrolled at the universities, has increased gradually from 44 in 1981 to 110 in 1991, 127 in 2001 (year 2000/2001). This tendency, together with the projects for increasing the number of degrees and diplomas and the growing influence exercised by the universities on the city, ensures an excellent training for the Valencian population.

The results: A highly qualified and trained population

In terms of the education of its population, Valencia is at one of the highest levels for European cities of over 500,000 inhabitants. In real terms, using data relating to 1996, Valencia is at a position six points above the European average with regard to the percentage of its population who have studied at university.

Compared with other major Spanish cities, the highest level of education in Valencia is to be found among the older age groups of the population. Furthermore, the percentage of the population with a university education has increased from 10.04% in 1991to 15.7% in 2001.

A city and its citizens prepared for the Age of Information

The projects and initiatives aimed at the democratization of the "Society of Information" and the new technologies are already having the desired effect. According to a recent study13, an increasing proportion of the Valencia population professes to be facing the changes and challenges of present day society with optimism and hope. In 2000, 62.8% per cent of those taking part in the study expressed such an outlook, in 2003 this figure rose to 80%. In the same way, 82% of those asked considered that the city was ready for the technological challenges of the future.

And the citizens themselves feel more prepared than they did two years ago to face these technological challenges.