The United Nations reported some years ago that according to its estimates and at a worldwide level, in July 2007, the urban population had surpassed the rural population. In addition, this trend is expected to continue in the next years, therefore in 2050 almost 70% of the world population will live in cities, and the number of cities with more than 10 million inhabitants will also increase worldwide..

The list of services that cities must provide to its citizenship is long. In Spain, and according to the Law Governing the Bases of Local Regime (BOE-A-1985-5392), we can see that municipalities' competences include among others the following ones:

• Urbanism: planning, management, execution and urban discipline. Protection and management of historical heritage. Promotion and management of public housing with financial sustainability criteria. Conservation and rehabilitation of the buildings.
• Urban environment: in particular, public parks and gardens, solid urban waste management and protection against noise, light and air pollution in urban areas.
• Supply of drinking water at home and evacuation and treatment of waste water.
• Road infrastructure and other equipment owned by the municipality.
• Evaluation and information of situations of social need and the immediate attention to people in situation or risk of social exclusion.
• Local police, civil protection, fire prevention and extinction.
• Traffic, vehicle parking and mobility. Urban collective transport.
• Information and promotion of tourism activity.
• Fairs, supplies, markets and street commerce.
• Protection of public health.
• Cemeteries and funeral activities.
• Promotion of sports and leisure facilities.
• Promotion of culture and cultural equipment.
• Participate in monitoring compliance with compulsory school attendance and cooperate with the corresponding educational authorities in obtaining the lots required for the construction of new teaching centers. The maintenance and monitoring of buildings of local ownership destined to public centers of childhood education, primary education or special education.
• Promotion of citizenship's participation in the efficient and sustainable use of information technologies and communications.

Apart from these mandatory services, municipalities often have to deal with the provision of additional services, which makes their management complex and expensive. It is estimated that, in the set of Spanish municipalities, about 30% of the expenditure is dedicated to financing non-compulsory competences (also called 'improper services'). The competences of security, civil protection, social protection and culture are the ones that more resources get in this line.

While recognizing municipal competencies in the various areas, the text of the mentioned Law emphasizes on many occasions on the need of evaluating the appropriateness of the implementation of local services in accordance with the basic principles of decentralization, efficiency, stability and financial sustainability. The new technologies available, and in particular those derived from the Internet of Things (IoT), offer today excellent mechanisms to guarantee these principles.