The Metropolis Nice Côte d'Azur is an intermunicipal, located France in the region of Alpes-Maritimes and the region Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur which is around the city of Nice. It was established on 31 December 2011 from the merger of the urban community Nice Côte d'Azur (NCA) with three of municipalities of Alpes-Maritimes. It includes 45 municipalities and approximately 545,000 inhabitants, on an area of approximately 1400 km. The municipalities involved share a number of skills. It is the first city founded in France. Its headquarters is located in Nice. 

IBM's Smarter Cities Challenge

The City of Nice Côte d’Azur was one of 24 cities around the world to be awarded a Smarter Cities® Challenge grantin 2011 as part of IBM’s citizenship efforts to build a SmarterPlanet™. IBM’s Smarter Cities Challenge aims to contribute to the improvement of high-potential cities around the world.

The growth, economic value and competitive advantage of today’s cities are increasingly driven by their citizens, their public infrastructure and innovation. While transportation is the backbone of this economic growth, it can also hinder it: congestion decreases personal and business productivity, lowers air quality and creates noise pollution. The costs associated with congestion in cities around the world range from 1.5 – 4 percent of GDP.

Nice Côte d’Azur, as a city of the 21st century, is well poised to take on this challenge by providing a range of transport methods. As part of the Eco Valley transformation, Nice Côte d’Azur has set out a vision for the future of travel: providing seamless journeys for travelers by coordinating and integrating different methods of transport. This will alleviate one of the main problems that plague the city today.