To improve urban life and address environmental concerns, walking is becoming an essential mode of transport to be promoted. Long neglected, walking offers considerable advantages: it's environmentally friendly, accessible to all, beneficial to public health and social inclusion.

Local authorities are gradually realizing that encouraging people to walk requires specific planning initiatives, at the crossroads of mobility and urban planning.

However, to implement effective public policies in favor of walking, it is essential to rely on objective data. Understanding who walks, where, when and why enables us to identify real needs and prioritize investments where they will have the greatest impact. It is precisely this data-driven approach that the Département de Seine-Saint-Denis in France has chosen to adopt.

Challenge

Prior to the implementation of a data-driven diagnosis, the council lacked the factual elements needed to :

• Identify priority pedestrian routes based on actual user flows
• Objectively assess the quality of existing pedestrian spaces
• Justify infrastructure investments to elected representatives and partners
• Measure the impact of developments on travel practices

Without such data, decisions were based on subjective estimates, making it difficult to prioritize projects and effectively allocate budgets dedicated to walkability.

Solutions

The department drew on the expertise of CEREMA (Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility, and Development) to carry out an in-depth qualitative assessment of walkability at six pilot sites in the region.

CEREMA has developed a structured methodology for assessing the quality of pedestrian spaces:

• Walking diagnosis: An analysis grid validated with the departmental council was used to make a precise inventory of each site.
• Multi-criteria approach: The assessment covers not only accessibility, but also climate, ambience, comfort of use (shading, furniture) and aesthetics.
• Collaboration with a local university: Students from a local university provided a fresh perspective and explored innovations.

Key results

• 20 km of diagnosis: The study covered 20 kilometers of pedestrian areas, with detailed recommendations for development.
• Variable quality: The results reveal a wide variety of situations at different sites, reflecting the specific challenges of each area.
• Concrete recommendations: Each site was the subject of a fact sheet presenting "showcase" developments for walkability.

Find out more about the diagnosis here (in French).

Analysis of pedestrian flows at Métro Robespierre with VisitorFlow

The Département also worked with Eco-Counter to carry out a VisitorFlow study between July 2023 and January 2024. The report analyzes pedestrian traffic around the Robespierre metro station in Montreuil. It is based on a methodology combining automatic counting data (collected thanks to our CITIX-AI camera counter, using Artificial Intelligence to count and classify several practices) and cellphone data. Field data is used to adjust estimates of pedestrian flows based on cell phone data, reinforcing the reliability of the results.

The study enabled us to :

• Measure daily pedestrian flows
• Analyze distances traveled
• Observe travel speeds
  
  Extract from the VisitorFlow report produced for the Département de Seine Saint-Denis

Results

What the data revealed

The VisitorFlow study analysis of pedestrian flows highlighted travel patterns and identified priority development needs:

• Footfall: Average footfall is 12,865 entries per day. The majority of traffic flows are concentrated on working days. A high volume of users concentrated around Robespierre station, confirming its role as a mobility hub
• 559 m traveled on average: short journeys that justify the importance of local facilities.
• 3 km/h average speed: A lower speed than that usually used for developments, revealing a specific urban environment
• 73% of users within a 10-minute walk: A high concentration of pedestrian traffic in the immediate proximity, underlining local usage.

Impact: Decisions and actions taken

The findings of the VisitorFlow study and the diagnosis carried out with CEREMA were used to inform the walking strategy and plan, adopted on May 22, 2025. The plan is structured around three areas of action:

• Priority 1: Prioritize, evaluate and manage (Identification of priority pedestrian routes, introduction of measurable indicators to monitor the quality of pedestrian areas over time, standardized analysis grid to systematically evaluate development projects).
• Priority 2: Repair, prepare and innovate (Prioritize work on deteriorated infrastructure identified during diagnostics, Create comfortable itineraries within a 10-minute walking radius around transport hubs, in line with the 73% of users identified in this zone, Experiment with new types of layout adapted to actual travel speeds (3 km/h vs. 5 km/h usually considered).
• Priority 3: Mobilize and communicate (Use of data as a tool for dialogue with elected representatives, local authorities and partners; Promotion of facilities designed to encourage walking; Sharing of methodologies and results with local authorities).

Lessons learned

The experience of the Département de Seine-Saint-Denis offers valuable lessons for other areas wishing to develop a data-driven walkability policy.

Lesson 1: Combining qualitative and quantitative methods enriches diagnosis

The combination of CEREMA's qualitative assessment (walking diagnosis, multi-criteria analysis) and usage data drawn from VisitorFlow (automatic counts, cell phone data) provides a comprehensive and nuanced view of pedestrian reality.

Lesson 2: Initial hypotheses must be compared with field data

The average speed of travel observed (3 km/h) differs significantly from the standards usually used in developments (5 km/h). This illustrates the importance of measuring actual behavior rather than relying solely on generic standards. Each territory has its own specificities, which require local data in order to design appropriate facilities.

Lesson 3: Data as a tool for dialogue and mobilization

Beyond their technical usefulness, pedestrian data are a powerful tool for dialogue with elected representatives, technical departments, local authorities and residents. They help to overcome subjective opinions, create a common language and unite players around a shared vision of walking in the city.

Would you like to find out more about our VisitorFlow solution?