The Place de la Nation, located in Paris, France, was the focus of a significant urban improvement project initiated by the Paris City Council. Their vision was clear - to create a greener and more livable urban environment that would enhance the quality of life for Parisians. To achieve this, the Council recognized the need for valuable insights into the movement patterns of pedestrians in and around Place de la Nation.
In order to achieve this, they needed to be able to collect, analyze and process mobile data to understand the dynamics of foot traffic and visitor behavior, which was essential to inform the upcoming urban enhancement efforts.
Discover the case study through the video below.
Intersec's solution for the City began with extensive data collection from WIFI terminals, capturing nearly 1 million events daily to gather information on visitor numbers, visit frequency, and visitor profiles, including tourists, residents, and workers. This data was then meticulously anonymized and analyzed to uncover critical insights such as popular routes, key points of interest, and usage patterns.
By employing robust privacy techniques like aliasing cryptographic, output filtering, and white noise introduction, Intersec ensured that individual privacy was safeguarded while providing actionable data. The insights gained enabled the City to explore various restructuring and optimization options, ultimately leading to a 57% increase in pedestrian space.
Jean-Marc Coïc, Intersec's CTO and co-founder, highlighted the impact, noting that the processed data allowed the City Council to accurately track visitor numbers, identify popular pedestrian and vehicle routes, and measure the duration of visits by time slots.