Flobecq officially becomes a "Smart City" thanks to Proximus and the Walloon Region
A "Smart City" is a city (or municipality) that leverages all available technologies to improve the quality of life for its inhabitants and visitors. The municipality of Flobecq, located in the heart of the Pays des Collines region, can now proudly claim to be a real "Smart City". Thanks to the innovative solutions developed by Proximus NXT and the support from the Walloon Region, via the Digital Wallonia #Smart Region call for projects financed as part of the recovery plan, Flobecq now has cutting-edge technological tools to improve the health, safety and mobility of its inhabitants, while better monitoring air quality and noise pollution in public spaces and residential areas. After Flobecq, Proximus NXT aims to implement several other "Smart Cities" in Belgium in the coming years.
More and more cities, both in Belgium and abroad, are turning to technology and connected digital solutions to improve their citizens' daily lives. These are known as "Smart Cities". With the support of Proximus and the Walloon Region and its digital strategy Digital Wallonia, under the coordination of the Agence du Numérique, the municipality of Flobecq, in the province of Hainaut, is now one of the most advanced "Smart Cities" in Belgium. The technology will help Flobecq's local authorities to be better equipped to tackle the many challenges facing all cities, whether they are related to safety, the environment, health, tourism, mobility or the management of public infrastructures.
Specifically, the technology deployed by Proximus NXT in Flobecq will, for example, increase safety at pedestrian crossings through a combination of advanced sensors, cameras and artificial intelligence. When the system detects a pedestrian, it automatically activates enhanced lighting and visual signals, making pedestrians more visible to drivers and allowing them to cross more safely.
This adaptive lighting system (Omniflow), which is designed to be as energy- efficient as possible by using renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, will also be used in parking lots to provide better lighting for drivers as they drop off or pick up their vehicles. Parking sensors and surveillance cameras have also been installed to monitor the parking lots and ensure maximum security. Flobecq was the first municipality in Belgium to install this autonomous lighting system (Omniflow).
More safety and mobility thanks to sensors throughout the municipality
Overall, the "Smart City" project in Flobecq will enable the collection of much more data (in a fully aggregated and anonymized way, to respect the privacy of citizens) and above all, allow for the intelligent use of this data. The goal is to be able to act in real time to prevent issues and reduce nuisances. Environmental sensors have been deployed to measure air quality, while sound detection sensors monitor noise levels in specific areas of the municipality.
Data from cameras and sensors, as well as from mobile phones, also allows Flobecq officials to gather valuable information on how many people visit the municipality, how many parking spaces are occupied, and how many cars, motorcycles and bicycles are present. All data will be centralized in the brand new " Data Engine" platform built by Proximus NXT on the Azure public cloud, which allows data from multiple sources to be managed with a common interface. This data is useful for tourism and mobility as well as public safety. For example, the flow of people and vehicles can be better managed during certain major events organized on the streets of the municipality.
Smart benches to recharge your mobile phone
For the citizens of Flobecq, living in a "Smart City" offers clear advantages in terms of quality of life. But that's not all: the municipality is also providing its inhabitants with "smart benches" where they can recharge their mobile phones without a cable. This is also a first in Belgium.
We are delighted to see the full roll-out of a Smart Municipality in Flobecq, as it is a real step forward for its inhabitants. The deployment of these technologies on a municipal scale is a major first for Proximus NXT. This innovation is particularly promising, as it sets a new standard for Smart City initiatives. We can certainly expect more similar projects in Belgium in the near future. As a company committed to the digital development of our country and its citizens, Proximus NXT intends to play a leading role in this field.
Flobecq has always stood out for its sense of innovation in all fields, such as alternative and green energy and sustainable development. Today, thanks to this partnership with Proximus, we are confirming that a "small rural municipality" like ours should not liss out on the benefits of innovation and the most advanced technologies. We are not only offering new services to our fellow citizens, but we are also proud to be pioneers in this field, paving the way for similar developments in other cities and municipalities in Belgium.
This project is one of the 80 winners of the call for projects ‘Territoire intelligent’ financed by the Walloon government as part of Wallonia's recovery plan. What these projects have in common is that they provide easily replicable services useful to citizens and to local and supralocal authorities. In addition, they are based on the organization of data to guarantee its sovereignty at territorial level. Thus, digital tools become a facilitator for an increasingly effective and efficient organization of public services.
