Before programming sensors, designing a model or sending data to the cloud, the team from Salesianos Atocha in Madrid took to the streets. Arganzuela Conectada, which placed second in the second edition of the Spanish Eco-Digithon (promoted by FPEmpresa and Innogestiona Ambiental), was born from observing the surrounding area and asking what problems affect everyday life in Madrid’s Arganzuela district.
“Our project began by going out into the streets and speaking with local residents about the real problems affecting the neighbourhood. Among the issues we identified were litter pollution, noise pollution and the loss of green spaces,” the team explains.
Based on this direct contact with the reality of the local environment, the students began developing a proposal based on Internet of Things (IoT) technologies to monitor environmental and urban variables such as temperature, humidity, air quality, noise levels and the use of certain public spaces. The aim was not only to measure these factors, but to turn the data into useful information that could help improve life in the neighbourhood.
The project takes shape in a scale model representing different areas of Arganzuela, such as parks, squares and traffic zones. Different sensor nodes are distributed throughout the model, collecting environmental information and sending it to digital platforms where the data can be visualised and analysed.
Listening to the neighbourhood before designing the solution
One of the key moments in the process was the collaboration with the Pasillo Verde Neighbourhood Association, with whom the students took part in a route through the district to identify real needs.
This social perspective is what sets Arganzuela Conectada apart from a purely technological proposal. The sensors and the scale model are tools, but the starting point is the community. The aim is for the information collected to help guide decisions and support specific improvements.
“All this data is collected and sent to a cloud platform so that local residents and the City Council can make future decisions and promote the changes needed to achieve a more sustainable environment,” the team explains.
The project was developed in an interdisciplinary way within the school. Students organised themselves into groups to take responsibility for different parts of the system, from electronics and programming to the construction of the scale model and the final presentation. Throughout the process, they had to face both technical and organisational challenges, while also seeing first-hand how their knowledge could be applied to real situations in their local environment.
Arganzuela Conectada therefore reflects the spirit of the Eco-Digithon: using technology and digital innovation to address social and environmental challenges through Vocational Education and Training. In this case, the project demonstrates how relatively simple solutions can help raise public awareness, make urban data easier to understand and open up new forms of participation between educational institutions, local communities and public authorities.
Beyond the recognition received, which includes €750 in equipment for the school, the project is designed to be scalable and replicable. Its approach could be adapted to other neighbourhoods or cities seeking to monitor environmental variables and make decisions based on real data.
With Arganzuela Conectada, the Salesianos Atocha team has demonstrated that VET can look at its surroundings, identify a local problem and turn it into a technological solution with social impact. Because sometimes innovation begins simply by going out into the streets, listening to the neighbourhood and transforming that information into an opportunity for improvement.
