City App

Collaborative application for improving the city

A smartphone application that helps municipalities actively engage their citizens on the important issues of the city

The smartphone application CITY APP refers to municipalities that want to actively engage their citizens on the important issues of the city. It is an innovative approach fully compatible with the priority axes of the EU “Digital Agenda 2020” for Smart Cities. The application has a user-friendly interface that enables citizens to address city problems, use city services (transportation, portal), identify themselves by using the “Citizen Card”, be informed about what is happening in the city, and submit new ideas for improving the city’s services. The application provides a map of the region for the localization of public interest services such as the City Hall, local businesses, cultural organizations and sport facilities.

Important news and announcements of the municipality are forwarded to citizens with similar interests, as defined in the application registration, with the help of push notifications to the citizens’ smartphones, minimizing the use of SMS messages and reducing the cost for the municipality.

The application effectively promotes regional businesses with the use of suggested Points of Interest (POIs), like local shops, restaurants and small family businesses, that are categorized and presented in the local city guide. Additionally, with the help of smartphones, citizens can make use of coupons that are provided by advertised businesses, enhancing local economic development and offering a new innovative approach for the promotion of the city’s products and services.

The City App is supported by the “Cloud4Smart” platform, developed by Telesto Technologies, which is responsible for the collection and processing of city data concerning environmental measurements, mobility and safety information for the citizens, and indicators for the quality of life in the city. The application enables convergence and integration of diverse silo applications and services within the smart city, relying on heterogeneous platforms and architectures (e.g. public bicycle management based on the traffic load, or CCTV camera surveillance based on the lighting).