In May 2025, the UNCHAIN project participated in a POLIS working group discussion focused on digitising curb space to enhance parking management and urban logistics operations.
The event also provided the City of Madrid with an opportunity to share insights from its living lab and the initiatives undertaken as part of the “Madrid 360” Strategy.
The city of Madrid launched the Madrid 360 sustainability strategy with 10 actions such as creating delivery lockers, encouraging the use of green vehicles for urban freight and implementing a smart loading and unloading (L/U) system.
Like many cities, Madrid faces increasing pressure on curbside space, challenged to accommodate multiple and often conflicting uses. Key challenges include congestion and overcrowding, inefficient use and allocation of space, conflicts between users, lack of clear regulation or enforcement. Like in LA, curb space is not always optimally allocated and regulations are not clearly understood.
To address these challenges, the city has introduced a parking management system based on a sustainability criteria. Pricing varies by zone and is influenced by both residency status and vehicle emissions. Notably, dynamic pricing adjusts rates in real time: if air pollution levels exceed certain thresholds, tariffs increase.
Managing loading and unloading zones bring several challenges:
- The lack of infrastructure and poor accessibility
- Deliveries occurring often outside of L/U zone
- Saturation of L/U zones during peak hours
To tackle these issues, Madrid developed the DUM 360 application for the management of loading and unloading activities. It offers a smart and user-friendly system for urban distribution and logistics in regulated parking zones.
Key features include vehicle registration, an interactive map to select a L/U zone, real-time occupancy levels, and the generation of a virtual ticket valid for 45 minutes in the selected zone.
The system also includes an advanced space management platform, allowing for optimization of the use of existing zones: a real-time space management application provides optimal space-time planning and efficiency of shared logistics facilities. Camera monitoring allows to see if the spot is occupied or free. All this functionality is fully integrated into the DUM 360 app.
Through the UNCHAIN project and the Madrid Living Lab, the city is taking concrete steps to modernize urban freight logistics and better manage its curbside space, helping to reduce emissions, improve accessibility, and optimize urban mobility systems.
