The City of Bordeaux is developing a large-scale campaign around the use of QR Codes. The purpose here is to deliver shortcuts to various contents: the cultural agenda of the city, a "picture of the day" page as well as historical and heritage information are linked to by a set of QR Codes.

Policy Context

Bordeaux City is advocating a massive push from public administration towards the use of mobile internet content for all. It first started with an Iphone application to provide citizens with up-to-date information about what to do in the city, and what to go to from the shows, expos and concerts taking place every week in Bordeaux. The "blockbuster" success of the application persuaded the City to offer more convenient access to these contents for all smartphone users.

Description of target users and groups

The project is addressing the inhabitants of Bordeaux as well as visitors.

Technology solution

The City chose the QR code international standard, to ensure that citizens as well as visitors from the rest of the world could easily access the content delivered. The almost cost-free creation of codes through this open standard was also considered.

Technology choice: Standards-based technology, Mainly (or only) open standards

Main results, benefits and impacts

Michel Duchène, a city councillor who worked in urbanism and transport and is now pushing the Digital City Project in the City Council, described in a public presentation the main benefits of the project: "the use of our own devices, such as parking meters or access control points, to stick some QR codes came easily to mind. Spending time and money to prevent unsuitable content, we decided to make regulated and controlled changes to our equipment to provide our inhabitants with more frequent opportunities to connect".

As a result, more than 700 stickers have been put on parking meters and more are expected in the coming weeks.

Dozens of large posters have also been distributed to attract people and tell them about existing online contents, accessible through any mobile internet-enabled phone.

The Codes are now an opportunity for the visitor in Bordeaux to get 24 hours a day an on-demand access to world heritage information about the streets and monuments of the city. Since Bordeaux is the largest UNESCO classified area today, small online "learning modules" offer a valuable companion to the journey...
More contents (and more codes in the city) are to be implemented, from shortcuts to smart googlemaps to find shops, services or parking places to " ideas of the day" or headline news of the city. More experimental uses such as a QR code for "flash votes" in public consultations are also under development.

Lessons learnt

Since the QR codes were not previously known to a mainstream audience, the City Hall created a new social use of smartphones in this campaign. That's why a specific initial effort of informing and explanation was made, and may be "refreshed" from time to time, to ensure that everybody has full knowledge about the cryptograms visible in the city.

Scope: Local (city or municipality)