Sports infrastructures: measuring to better share

Do you really need to build more to move more?

For years, the question has come up again and again in public debates: do we have enough sports infrastructure to meet demand? But behind this question, another question, which is less often asked, deserves attention: what if the problem was not the lack, but the poor distribution of uses?

An initial observation: equipment that is sometimes saturated... and sometimes underused

In Paris as elsewhere, some sites are stormed during peak hours, while others remain almost unoccupied. This unequal use complicates planning and creates a feeling of injustice. For communities, it is becoming difficult to know whether to build more, renovate existing ones, or simply better distribute flows.

The Parisian experiment: measuring to better organize

This is precisely the challenge that the City of Paris wanted to take up with the “Défis Parisiens” call for projects, in which Kiomda was selected as laureate on the theme of the intensification of sports uses.

For 8 months, autonomous sensors will be installed on several open access sports fields. Objective: measure real attendance, identify under-exploited time slots, understand occupancy dynamics and objectify the feelings of users. This approach, which is non-intrusive and strictly anonymous, makes it possible to consider management that is finer, more equitable and better adapted to needs.

Towards a logic of optimization rather than extension

This initiative is part of a larger movement: that of data-driven management. By having a clear vision of uses, local authorities can:

• Encourage certain niches for specific audiences (schools, clubs, seniors)
• Offer activities on deserted time slots
• Avoid heavy investments where better organization is sufficient
• Identify sites where there is a real lack of space

A simple solution, adapted to the constraints of the field

One of the obstacles often mentioned to the collection of usage data is technical or regulatory complexity. The Parisian experiment bypasses these obstacles thanks to autonomous technology, without an electrical connection or a permanent internet connection. Data is collected continuously and then synchronized regularly. No image processing, no personal data: only quantified flows of pedestrians in motion.

And elsewhere?

This type of device is already of interest to other communities. For example, several mountain municipalities use it to adapt the maintenance of their equipment (skiing, mountain biking, trail). Some coastal communities have measured the attendance of their multi-sport fields by the sea, in order to reorganize the use during tourist seasons.

Making better use of what already exists: a key for tomorrow

Building more is not always possible. Not always desirable either, in a context of land sobriety, ecological transition and budgetary scarcity. On the other hand, making better use of what we already have, thanks to simple, robust and proven tools, is a way forward.

The Parisian experiment will tell us more clearly: we only manage well what we measure.

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