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The Municipality of Guimarães was facing growing challenges in urban management, particularly the need to monitor traffic in real time, track parking availability, and assess weather conditions. To address these needs, the Municipality sought a technological solution capable of integrating data from different sources and encouraging active citizen participation in city management.
«Instead of making decisions based on perceptions, we effectively started making decisions based on data.»
Our solution
In partnership with Ubiwhere, Guimarães implemented the Urban Platform, which integrates and harmonises the city’s urban data, providing a comprehensive overview to tackle urban challenges and optimise territorial management.
The Urban Management Platform provides the Municipality of Guimarães with a city dashboard that displays real-time information across multiple domains, sourced from sensors, services, and the local community.
By integrating Artificial Intelligence, city managers can carry out more complete and effective analyses of the data collected from various sources, improving the decision-making process.
This tailored solution serves as the backbone of Guimarães’ Integrated Operations Centre – an operational coordination hub that brings together the Municipal Civil Protection Centre, the Municipal Police, the Urban Innovation and Interpretation Lab, and the Minho Mobility Data Access Point.
The project encompassed the development, integration, and customisation of the interoperability layer of the Urban Platform to meet the Municipality’s specific requirements.
Beyond internal operations, Guimarães also invested in citizen engagement through URBIA – a public portal that allows residents to access relevant urban data and actively contribute to the city’s development.
Integrated verticals
Traffic management
Real-time view of traffic, based on historical data and trends.
Incident management
Real-time monitoring and management of incidents in the city by severity level.
Parking management
Efficient management of the city's car parks, with an integrated, real-time view of demand.
Electric mobility management
Real-time information on the use and energy consumption of electric vehicle chargers.
Public transport management
View of stops and lines, with public transport data integration.
Traffic restrictions
Efficient management of traffic restrictions, with the history of each incident through to resolution.
Real-time public transport
Real-time location of vehicles, including delays, lines and stops.
Building stock management
Management of built assets with GIS for integrated urban planning.
Solid waste management
Monitoring of smart bins and optimisation of collection routes.
Video analytics
Counting people and vehicles from video for data-driven decisions.
Water consumption management
Real-time monitoring of water consumption to detect waste and leaks.
Air quality monitoring
Real-time air quality measurement, correlated with traffic zones.
Noise monitoring
Continuous noise measurement, correlated with sensor-equipped areas, for public health.
River flows and flood marks
Real-time monitoring of rivers and watercourses to prevent flooding.
Energy consumption in buildings
Management of buildings' energy consumption and costs, with comparisons and efficiency.
Results achieved
- Improved urban management: The platform provides municipal managers with an integrated, real-time view of the city, facilitating informed and efficient decision-making.
- Active citizen participation: Through URBIA, the citizens of Guimarães have access to key territorial information, promoting a more inclusive approach to urban management.
- International recognition: The implementation of Ubiwhere’s Urban Management Platform in Guimarães has been recognised as a best practice by the European Commission, standing out for its accessibility and comprehensive approach to urban data management.
«We were able to see that (the Urban Platform) truly changed the lives of the people living in the historic centre.»
The partnership between Ubiwhere and the Municipality of Guimarães resulted in an effective solution to address the challenges of modern urban management. With this implementation, Guimarães reinforces its commitment to more efficient, transparent, and participatory urban governance, positioning itself as a reference point within the smart city ecosystem.
