1001 Smart Cities
🇦🇺 Melbourne

City of Melbourne Pedestrian Counting System

🤖 AI-generated summary · ◆ 11 sourced claims · 🔎 Last verified

This overview was generated with AI from the public sources listed below and checked against them before publication. It has not had a complete human fact-check — treat it as a starting point and follow the sources.

11 sourced claims on this page, none individually verified yet — turn on “Sources in the text” to see each one.

How this atlas is made · What “last verified” means · What “source-checked” means · The full record behind this page

✎ Corrected 5 Oct 2026 1 source added. What changed →

Sensors at 99 locations counted 312.9 million pedestrian movements in 2025. That read as 7.7% growth, but the network had grown too: comparing only sensors present in both years leaves 1.2%.

Outcome🔄 Ongoing
Evidence📊 Independent
what does this mean?The strongest source is an independent non-academic evaluation: an audit office, a government or EU review, or an NGO. It grades who did the looking — not how well the project went. All four grades →
Run byCity of Melbourne
Scale🏙️ City-wide

Part of 1001 Smart Cities — 1,216 documented projects · 🏙️ 9 more in Melbourne · 📡 Sensors & IoT guide · 📡 Data & IoT projects

Sensors mounted on street poles or under awnings have counted pedestrian movements across central Melbourne since 2009, growing to 99 locations by 2025. The city publishes hourly and near-real-time counts as open data; researchers have used it to track COVID-19 CBD recovery, test pedestrian-safety correlations, and nowcast state retail sales.

Live 📅 since 2009

📊 Impact

99 sensor locations recorded 312.9 million pedestrian movements across Melbourne in 2025; comparing only the 94 sensors active in both years over May–December, growth was about 1.2% versus 2024 (City of Melbourne open data, analysed by Rock Posters, June 2026).

🎓 Lesson

Headline year-over-year growth figures from an expanding sensor network can overstate real foot-traffic change — the 2026 analysis found a 7.7% raw increase but only 1.2% on a like-for-like sensor basis.

📡 Data & IoTSensors & IoTOpen dataPublic space

Sources

↗ City of Melbourne Open Data Portal — Sensor Locations datasetUpdated 13 November 2022Since-2009 hourly counts, sensor status/location metadata
↗ RMIT University — "Has CBD pedestrian activity in Melbourne recovered since Covid-19?"Published 21 June 2023Academic use: 2019 vs 2022 weekday/weekend recovery analysis
↗ Pamuditha & Levinson (2025), 'Numbers in Safety' for Pedestrians in Melbourne, FindingsPublished 3 July 2025Peer-reviewed use: pedestrian-safety correlation, 21 CBD intersections 2014-2019
↗ Navon (2023), Measuring Local Economic Activity Using Pedestrian Count Data, Economic RecordPublished 27 July 2023Peer-reviewed economics use of the dataset
↗ Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)Published 24 June 20262025 figures: 99 sensor locations, 312.9m movements, currency check
Show 1 more sourcesShow fewer
↗ Yanotti, Navon, de Silva et al. (2026), The walking economy: Pedestrian counts as a real-time indicator of regional economic activity, Economic Analysis and PolicyPublished July 2026Peer-reviewed: daily counts from ten fixed CBD sensors (2010–2024) improve nowcasts of Victoria's monthly retail sales turnover.

📅 How old is the evidence?

Two clocks, kept apart: when this entry’s sources were published, and what has happened to its record in the atlas. Documented span: since 2009. 5 of 6 sources carry a publication date, from 21 June 2023 to July 2026.

When the sources were published

  1. RMIT University · researchRMIT University — "Has CBD pedestrian activity in Melbourne recovered since Covid-19?"
  2. Wiley · researchNavon (2023), Measuring Local Economic Activity Using Pedestrian Count Data, Economic Record
  3. Findings Press · researchPamuditha & Levinson (2025), 'Numbers in Safety' for Pedestrians in Melbourne, Findings
  4. Medianet (AAP) · platformRock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
  5. Yanotti, Navon, de Silva et al. (2026), The walking economy: Pedestrian counts as a real-time indicator of regional economic activity, Economic Analysis and Policy

Every source, with links ↑

What happened to this record

  1. Entered the record
  2. 1 source added
  3. Sources last read

Every revision, permanent →

Show your work What this page rests on and what it can’t tell you · all 11 claims with their sources · the forensic record

Evidence file · public beta 11 addressable claims, 6 source dossiers, one permanent baseline. The file is unreviewed — an AI-assisted structural migration, not a human or expert endorsement. Every revision keeps a permanent copy under revision history.

Inspect the claims, one by one — verbatim text, sources and caveats for all 11

The text below is copied verbatim from the published record. Each claim names the source dossiers that carry it; caveats stay attached to the claim they qualify.

Claim 1 clm-1c15170bdba58848 descriptive
Sensors mounted on street poles or under awnings
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The dataset description says sensors are typically installed under an awning or on a street pole to form a counting zone on the footpath below.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. City of Melbourne Open Data Portal — Sensor Locations dataset
Claim 2 clm-a738fe2dd85c0539 quantitative
have counted pedestrian movements across central Melbourne since 2009
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The dataset refers to the inauguration of the Pedestrian Counting System in 2009; sensors record bi-directional pedestrian movements 24 hours a day.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. City of Melbourne Open Data Portal — Sensor Locations dataset
Claim 3 clm-a79f03cde62e273d quantitative
growing to 99 locations by 2025
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The analysis reports data from 99 active sensor locations in 2025.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
Claim 4 clm-f6cd7127d2904947 descriptive
The city publishes hourly and near-real-time counts as open data
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The portal links the related datasets 'Pedestrian Counting System – 2009 to Present (counts per hour)' and 'Past Hour (counts per minute)'.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. City of Melbourne Open Data Portal — Sensor Locations dataset
Claim 5 clm-3e5c3b0b8477fcb7 quantitative
researchers have used it to track COVID-19 CBD recovery
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
RMIT researchers compared 2019 and 2022 pedestrian counts and found weekday numbers back to about 59% of pre-pandemic levels.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. RMIT University — "Has CBD pedestrian activity in Melbourne recovered since Covid-19?"
Claim 6 clm-2afa77cd6603f3de descriptive
test pedestrian-safety correlations
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The paper runs a panel regression on 2014–2019 data from 21 CBD intersections, using the city's pedestrian counts, and finds a consistent negative correlation between changes in safety and pedestrian numbers.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Pamuditha & Levinson (2025), 'Numbers in Safety' for Pedestrians in Melbourne, Findings
Claim 7 clm-973070472dddc429 descriptive
nowcast state retail sales
Published field
snippet · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The 2026 paper tests whether daily CBD pedestrian counts help nowcast Victoria's monthly retail sales turnover and finds they improve out-of-sample accuracy; the 2023 paper finds CBD pedestrian volume is associated with economic activity.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Yanotti, Navon, de Silva et al. (2026), The walking economy: Pedestrian counts as a real-time indicator of regional economic activity, Economic Analysis and Policy
  2. Navon (2023), Measuring Local Economic Activity Using Pedestrian Count Data, Economic Record
Claim 8 clm-b2f11991e6420a0b quantitative
99 sensor locations recorded 312.9 million pedestrian movements across Melbourne in 2025
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The analysis of City of Melbourne sensor data reports 312.9 million pedestrian movements across 99 sensor locations in 2025.
Caveat
The analysis was published by an outdoor-advertising company working from the city's open data.

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
Claim 9 clm-2f2645730d6a2ab7 quantitative
comparing only the 94 sensors active in both years over May–December, growth was about 1.2% versus 2024
Published field
impact · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Using only the 94 sensor locations active in both years for May to December, movement grew around 1.2%, from 181.5 million to 183.6 million.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
Claim 10 clm-b53b8af1b2690da1 descriptive
Headline year-over-year growth figures from an expanding sensor network can overstate real foot-traffic change
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
The analysis says the larger 7.7% rise across all sensors reflects expanded sensor coverage rather than a citywide surge.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
Claim 11 clm-a57858e8c052c325 quantitative
the 2026 analysis found a 7.7% raw increase but only 1.2% on a like-for-like sensor basis
Published field
lesson · verbatim
Mapping
mapped · no interpretation or interpolation added by this file
What the mapping says
Like-for-like growth was about 1.2%; the headline 7.7% reflects expanded coverage.
Caveat
No claim-specific caveat recorded

Sources carrying this claim

  1. Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026)
Forensic record — source dossiers, gaps, hashes and the exact revision this page renders

This layer records what is known about each source, what is still missing, and the exact snapshot this page is rendering. A missing date, archive or hash stays visible as missing.

unreviewed Revision 2026-10-05-p4-quality-run effective 2026-10-05 · created 2026-10-05

Awaiting operator and domain-expert review; publication of this revision implies neither.

sha256:44ee1506d0fff680aabd8a8af6aa303cc463d208edc620828a0d5915cd3f0ba8
Revision history → Permanent version link → Machine-readable record → Evidence Constitution →
11
of 11 claims mapped
6
source dossiers
4
publication dates recorded
0
archives linked
0
exact locators
0
content captures hashed

Governance facts carried by the record

Operator
City of Melbourne
Actor types
city-government
Funding model
public
Funding description
Not recorded
Cost
Not recorded
Ownership
Not recorded
Decision rights
Not recorded
Exit conditions
Not recorded

6 source dossiers

City of Melbourne Open Data Portal — Sensor Locations dataset data.melbourne.vic.gov.au · 3 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-9ae2627db1235d94
Publisher
Name not classified · data.melbourne.vic.gov.au
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
2022-11-13
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Since-2009 hourly counts, sensor status/location metadata

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
RMIT University — "Has CBD pedestrian activity in Melbourne recovered since Covid-19?" rmit.edu.au · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-3e431508e79ad903
Publisher
Name not classified · rmit.edu.au
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-06-21
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Academic use: 2019 vs 2022 weekday/weekend recovery analysis

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Pamuditha & Levinson (2025), 'Numbers in Safety' for Pedestrians in Melbourne, Findings doi.org · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-643a87308d173515
Publisher
Name not classified · doi.org
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2025-07-03
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Peer-reviewed use: pedestrian-safety correlation, 21 CBD intersections 2014-2019

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Navon (2023), Measuring Local Economic Activity Using Pedestrian Count Data, Economic Record onlinelibrary.wiley.com · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-6ad740e1b3965a60
Publisher
Name not classified · onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2023-07-27
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Peer-reviewed economics use of the dataset

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Rock Posters analysis of City of Melbourne pedestrian data (June 2026) newshub.medianet.com.au · 5 linked claims

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-ab81311ec9fa6273
Publisher
Name not classified · newshub.medianet.com.au
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
2026-06-24
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

2025 figures: 99 sensor locations, 312.9m movements, currency check

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Yanotti, Navon, de Silva et al. (2026), The walking economy: Pedestrian counts as a real-time indicator of regional economic activity, Economic Analysis and Policy doi.org · 1 linked claim

Open original source ↗

Stable source ID
src-4f6bce451674f601
Publisher
Name not classified · doi.org
Type / language
web-page · language not classified
Published
Not recorded
Updated
Not recorded
Source last checked
No source-level check date
Record last verified
2026-10-05
Dossier created
2026-10-05
Retrieved copy
No local capture recorded
Archive
No archived copy linked
Content hash
No captured content hash
Locator
Open the recorded source note

Peer-reviewed: daily counts from ten fixed CBD sensors (2010–2024) improve nowcasts of Victoria's monthly retail sales turnover.

Descriptive only — not page/paragraph exact
Claims linked
Known limits of this file
  • Publisher names and source languages have not yet been classified; domains are recorded without guessing.
  • Existing source notes are descriptive locators, not page- or paragraph-exact citations.
  • A missing archive, publication date or content hash is shown as null rather than inferred.
  • The project-level evidence grade ranks the strongest source in the entry; it is not a truth score for every claim.

Continue exploring

Compare this project

🇦🇺 Melbourne Open Data Portal · Melbourne Its hourly counts are the portal's flagship dataset — and one of just 13 with no listed licence. 🇬🇧 Vivacity AI Traffic-Sensor Network · London Infrared counters have logged foot traffic since 2009; London's Vivacity adds AI classification from 2018. 🇺🇸 Array of Things · Chicago Melbourne's poles have counted pedestrians since 2009 and never stopped; Chicago's similar array retired in 2021.

Explore the wider context

🏙️ Urban digital twins compared📖 Open data📖 Urban data platform (UDP)📖 15-minute city
📎 Cite this project

1001 Smart Cities (2026). “City of Melbourne Pedestrian Counting System” — Melbourne, Australia. The Smart City Atlas. https://1001smartcities.org/projects/melbourne-pedestrian-counting-system/ (last verified 2026-10-05). Data: CC BY 4.0.

The underlying data is free to reuse with attribution — see the open data page.

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