People Moving Count

Basic Information

Language

English, Spanish

Latest update

20 Aug 2019

Price

Free

Application time

Days

Assistance required

Assistance data

Traffic counts

Tool type

Method / Approach

Application area

Data gathering

Target Audience

Medium-sized cities
Large cities
Metropolitan regions

Summary

The People Moving Count measures how many people move through a space and by what means. This information gives us a sense of how busy a space is at different times of day and how accessible it is by different modes of transport.

You can use the People Moving Count at a variety of scales, including a park, plaza, street, bus stop, neighborhood, or city. For example, it’s useful for measuring the effectiveness of a new crosswalk, the popularity of a festival, or the stickiness of a park: how many people move past it vs. how many people stop to spend time there.

To use this tool, you will stand in a space with an invisible line 10-15 feet in front of you, then record how many people move past the line and how they are moving (by foot, bicycle, etc.).

Don’t forget: print this tool double-sided! It is meant to be folded into a booklet. You can download it from the link.

Gehl's public life tools are free for all to download, use, and remix to meet your project’s needs.

Go to the Tool website

Good Example

The City of Copenhagen, Denmark, applies this method at the city scale. Each year, it counts how many people are spending time in public space and publishes the results. In 2015, Copenhagen met its 5-year target of 20% more people spending time in public, and 80% of residents reported feeling satisfied with the quality of the public realm. While most cities have protocols for measuring traffic data and property values, few cities set quantitative targets for pedestrians and public space users. But crafting such targets can be productive in unifying ambitions across city agencies ranging from parks, transportation, planning, and economic development.