Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of Lublin, Smart City’s Person of the Year

Smart City award competition is aimed at representatives of business and IT sectors as well as local government institutions, who implement a wide variety of projects in which innovative solutions and management strategies are applied. What is more, they improve competitive advantages of Polish cities, economy, and businesses.

Lublin was awarded the title for its communication with citizens, modern public transportation system, Lublin city bike, well-developed fiber-optic network and spatial infrastructure. It is the second time Lublin has achieved distinction. Last year, the city was recognised in the Intelligent City category.

I am happy to see the great number of citizens being involved in initiatives supporting and developing the city. In order to act in line with the desires of the public we serve, we apply a variety of tools, e.g. Civic Budget, Local Initiative and Green Civic Budget, which allow us to connect with the community in action. Such services as Naprawmy.to and social dialogue box are outstanding examples of how citizens can interact directly with municipal administration officials and report faults which need to be repaired – said Krzysztof Żuk, Mayor of Lublin.

The idea behind “Smart City” is to use new intelligent technological solutions which will enable a better quality of citizens’ life. Lublin is considered to have the best public transportation system. Apart from modern buses equipped with energy recovery systems, including an electric bus, Lublin is proud of the largest trolleybus network in Poland (61 km, 111 trolleybuses). Over 80% of public transport vehicles is provided with free internet hotspots. With GPS tracking devices installed in all vehicles, bus riders can access electronic schedules with near real-time updates.

In Lublin, Advanced Traffic Management System covering nearly 50% of all crossroads has been in use already for a few years. Krzysztof Żuk was the first mayor of Lublin to undertake and successfully introduce the initiative of city bikes. Currently, the citizens can benefit from 900 city bikes docked in 85 stations, including two with kids bikes. In Lublin, there are 439 CCTV cameras being installed in public areas as well as sports and leisure facilities, as part of the municipal government officials’ approach to addressing community safety.

Moreover, the number of free hot spots is increasing and new Citizen Service Offices are being opened, e.g. in local post offices. Additionally, the city also provides data packages within geographic information system.