How Kazimierz Dolny will become Poland’s smartest city

The little town of Kazimierz Dolny will become Poland’s most advanced smart city, thanks to new T-Mobile technologies.

Only two hours from Warsaw and beautifully situated on the Vistula River, Kazimierz Dolny attracts over a million tourists a year. It has not changed much since the Renaissance, when it was a thriving grain-trading centre. Today it is a national heritage site, an art centre and the perfect place to get out into nature. The project shows that it is possible to introduce the latest technologies into a city with historical character, making it even safer and more welcoming for residents and visitors.

Deutsche Telekom’s subsidiary T-Mobile Poland will use innovative smart technologies to turn Kazimierz Dolny into the country’s first multifaceted smart city. This will serve as a showcase for future implementations across the country and also to widen Deutsche Telekom’s European footprint. The project involves 12 smart solutions. This is how they work:

Easily reach your destination

A Traffic Information System will help visitors plan a trip to Kazimierz Dolny without traffic headaches. Using Big Data technology to analyse vehicle and pedestrian movements, the solution enables traffic updates in real time. It can estimate a visitor’s times of arrival and suggest detours to avoid problem areas. It will be especially useful on crowded weekends.

You’ve arrived? Now park your car

No problem with the city’s smart parking solution. This mobile application informs drivers about free parking spaces, directing them to the nearest spot. It is a vital solution for the city, because if cars find parking quickly, traffic and, therefore, CO2 emissions are reduced.

Leave the car and breathe clean air

An air quality monitoring system in Kazimierz Dolny will use top-quality sensors to identify harmful emissions. It is especially effective in sourcing air pollution and helping to effectively fight high CO2 emissions.

Safety all around 

To increase the security of the entire community, 40 smart cameras with video detection are going to be installed in the town. Using advanced algorithms, they are able to detect and inform about possible threats, such as a street fight or an emergency situation, like a person fainting. The effectiveness of this solution reaches up to 95 percent and helps to significantly accelerate the reaction to incidents.

Discover smart lighting

Beyond the monitoring system, there are other innovations that together create a safe atmosphere in Kazimierz Dolny. The smart lighting system is undoubtedly one of them. How does it work? The light intensity automatically changes during night, depending also on traffic conditions, which results in improved visibility for drivers and pedestrians. What’s more, if a light goes out, the system informs the city about the breakdown so it can be fixed it quickly. Furthermore, LED lighting is much more cost- and energy-efficient.

Learn more about what you see

Up to date information on nearby attractions will be a fingertip away. Forty Wi-Fi hotspots located in the town’s most visited areas will make this possible. An added benefit is that local enterprises will be able to advertise on the information login page, bringing the city additional income.

Don’t get back in the car!

Cycling is one of the fastest and most convenient ways to get to the best spots in Kazimierz Dolny. The city will therefore provide 60 bikes and electric vehicles to complement public transport. The bicycles will be available at special stations where they can be easily rented and returned.

Easily charge your vehicle

As a part of an ecological public vehicle system, T-Mobile Poland will provide three electric vehicle charging stations. Simple, eco and fast.

Don’t miss the details

While walking around town, pay attention to the newly installed smart bus shelters and benches. Thanks to smart technologies, they will become functional spaces where you can charge mobile phones using solar energy, login to a Wi-Fi network or get information about possible bus delays.

Read the digital screens

To make exploring the city even more convenient, digital screens will display crucial information about the weather, points of interest, or, even, emergency situations, as well as relevant messages from the city administration.

But to control such a complex system?

A last but equally important solution is the dashboard for the mayor of the city. It is a tool for the comprehensive management of and reporting on the integrated smart city applications.

While truly exceptional considering the historic background, Kazimierz Dolny is not the only example of cities and villages that are becoming smart. The possibilities of smart services are nearly limitless. With a substantial experience in the field and an established network of partners across Europe, Deutsche Telekom is ideally placed to offer services that will make cities even more liveable.