Public data, a written method

Producer and licence for each source. Data under the ODbL licence (OpenStreetMap and derived databases) is cited, never exported.

Residents and housing

• Population census: commuting, cars, housing, age, jobs — INSEE — Licence Ouverte
• Home-to-work and home-to-school flows — INSEE — Licence Ouverte
• Income and local facilities (permanent facilities database) — INSEE — Licence Ouverte
• Municipal boundaries — geo.api.gouv.fr (IGN, INSEE) — Licence Ouverte

Transport and roads

• Public transport timetables — national access point transport.data.gouv.fr — licence set by each network
• Road network, widths and routing (BD TOPO) — IGN — Licence Ouverte
• Car parks, public places, emergency services — IGN — Licence Ouverte
• Cycle facilities — data.gouv.fr (Geovelo export of OpenStreetMap) — ODbL
• Car-sharing areas (national database) — transport.data.gouv.fr — ODbL
• EV charging points — data.gouv.fr — Licence Ouverte
• Fuel stations and shortages — Ministry of the Economy — Licence Ouverte

Safety

• Injury road accidents (national file) — ONISR — Licence Ouverte
• Fixed speed cameras — Ministry of the Interior — Licence Ouverte
• Recorded crime — Ministry of the Interior (SSMSI) — Licence Ouverte

Schools and health

• School directory and pupil numbers — Ministry of Education — Licence Ouverte
• Access to GPs — DREES — Licence Ouverte

Hazards and climate

• Listed hazards and recognised natural disasters — Géorisques — Licence Ouverte
• Flood and ground-movement zones — IGN (planning portal), Géorisques — Licence Ouverte
• Rain, heavy rain, sunshine, past weather warnings — Météo-France — Licence Ouverte

Facilities and networks

• Drinking water, wastewater plants, building permits, fibre, mobile masts, recycling centres — ARS, Ministry for Ecological Transition, SDES, ARCEP, ADEME — Licence Ouverte

Water

• Today's drought restrictions and days under restriction this year (VigiEau) — Ministry for Ecological Transition — Licence Ouverte
• Dry rivers (ONDE), groundwater levels, river flows, declared abstractions (BNPE), river quality — OFB and BRGM, via Hub'Eau — Licence Ouverte
• Future river flows under climate scenarios (Explore2) — INRAE, Météo-France, DRIAS-Eau, published on data.gouv.fr — Licence Ouverte
• Network efficiency, losses, renewal, water prices, non-collective sanitation (SISPEA) — French Biodiversity Agency — Licence Ouverte

Car-pooling

• Car-pooling trips (car-pooling proof register) — Ministry of Transport, on data.gouv.fr — Licence Ouverte

Waste

• Authorities, funding, tonnages, costs, facilities (SINOE) — ADEME — Licence Ouverte
• Recycling centre opening hours — OpenStreetMap contributors — ODbL

Finance and economy

• Municipal accounts — OFGL, from DGFiP — Licence Ouverte
• Property sales (DVF) — DGFiP and Etalab — Licence Ouverte
• Social housing, priority neighbourhoods, local taxes — Ministry of Housing, ANCT, DGFiP — Licence Ouverte

A finding states one fact (“20 accidents on this road in five years”). An issue combines at least two independent sources and draws a conclusion (those accidents, the time they happen, the number of people using the road, the lack of a speed camera). An issue based on a single source is not presented as cross-checked: it is classed “to watch”.

• every fact cited carries its source, and the report refers to it by number;
• every finding is marked “measured” (counted in a source) or “estimate” (a rule applied to the data, to be checked on the ground);
• every proposed quantity (spaces, return trips, kilometres) is calculated from the data, with the assumption written alongside;
• costs are orders of magnitude, never quotes;
• an item is assigned to the area by its position on the map, not by its declared municipality code;
• a source that does not respond is reported, never counted as zero; data covered by statistical confidentiality is shown as “not published”.

Every report includes a “What this report does not know” section. The most common limits:

• actual traffic: without published traffic counts, road load is an estimate based on commuting trips;
• trips for shopping, health, leisure and tourism: the census only counts work and study;
• bus ridership and free seats on school buses;
• secondary school hours, which are not published;
• whether a public plot or car park is actually available;
• mobile speed cameras and police checks;
• the real costs of your waste contracts: ADEME reference costs date from 2022.

These points are checked with traffic counts, a short residents' survey and site visits.

A real example