The European data space for smart communities is an EU-wide action creating a cross-sectorial data space for governments on all levels (local, regional, national) and their providers to deliver the best possible services to their citizens by enabling interoperability to reach critical goals, including the Green Deal.

Cities and communities are in a unique position as they can be both providers and consumers of data and services. Hence, they have the potential to bring together a wide range of information in a harmonised manner to provide intelligence, and ultimately improve the delivery of services and quality of life for citizens and communities. However, the silos in cities and communities, the lack of interoperability and the ability to securely and efficiently share data together with the absence of effective business models make this harmonized flow of information difficult. Data spaces, intended as an infrastructure that enables data transactions between different parties of the data ecosystem based on the governance framework of that data space, address these challenges. They bring together a variety of data from different sources on local, regional, or national levels and act as an enabler of data-driven innovations like local digital twins. 

At the EU level, there is currently an ongoing project on a European data space for smart communities based on the pilot action on Data Spaces for Smart and Sustainable Cities and Communities, which is part of the Living-in.EU ecosystem. This initiative is embedded in the Living-in EU movement.