HERNING CITY USES PEOPLE COUNTER SYSTEM FOR SMARTER PUBLIC SPACES

Primary keywords: people counter, customer counter, visitor counter.

Herning City has moved from gut feeling to data-driven decisions by implementing a people counter system and footfall analytics. The project, powered by CountMatters, helps city planners and business developers understand movement, occupancy and flow patterns—leading to better design, staffing and event planning.

FROM GUESSWORK TO DATA-DRIVEN DECISIONS

Urban planners in Herning once relied on intuition when measuring city activity. With CountMatters’ platform, they now base decisions on verified visitor data—showing when citizens visit, how long they stay, and how movement changes between weekdays, weekends and events.

THE SOLUTION: SENSOR-AGNOSTIC AND FAST TO DEPLOY

CountMatters combines accurate people counting sensors with location mapping. Wi-Fi flow sensors cover large open areas, while precision sensors—such as Xovis units—count entrances and exits at key points. The setup is live within days, requires no heavy infrastructure, and integrates easily with existing city systems.

GDPR BY DESIGN

Herning’s system fully complies with GDPR. All data is anonymized before leaving the sensor. The platform stores only aggregated counts and trends—no faces, no devices, no personal information.

PROOF: RESULTS FROM MUNICIPAL FOOTFALL ANALYTICS

• Improved service timing based on real visitor peaks.
• Evidence-based evaluation of city events and markets.
• Better use of staff and security resources.
• More transparent communication with citizens and stakeholders.

USE CASES OTHER CITIES CAN COPY

EVENT PLANNING

Measure attendance and dwell time during local events or markets. Compare data with baseline weeks to see ROI in real terms. Read related cases from other Danish cities in our overview of six city analytics projects.

PUBLIC AREAS AND PARKS

Use occupancy monitoring to plan cleaning, maintenance and opening hours. Explore more in How people counting transformed outdoor pool management.

RETAIL ZONES AND TRANSPORT HUBS

Footfall analytics support balanced staffing, parking management and crowd control. Cities can combine this with sustainability KPIs to measure accessibility and engagement.

IMPLEMENTATION AND DASHBOARDS

1. Survey the area and map entrances and flows.
2. Install the right sensor type per zone.
3. Enable edge anonymization and EU-based hosting.
4. Access real-time dashboards for occupancy, dwell and trends.
5. Use data exports to share insights across departments.

ROI AND IMPACT

• Reduced overtime and wasted hours.
• Faster feedback on event success.
• Safer, more comfortable public spaces.
• Data-backed dialogue with citizens and local retailers.

MINI-FAQ

IS THE SYSTEM EXPENSIVE?

Pricing depends on site size and sensor type. CountMatters focuses on quick ROI through improved efficiency rather than upfront hardware costs.

CAN WE START SMALL?

Yes, pilot one or two key areas—measure results—then scale city-wide.

WHAT ABOUT PRIVACY?

All data is anonymized at the source. No faces, phones or IDs are stored.

CONCLUSION: A MODEL FOR MODERN CITY MANAGEMENT

Herning City shows how people counter systems and footfall analytics can help municipalities make decisions based on facts rather than assumptions—balancing data-driven insight with citizen privacy.

Plan Smarter Public Spaces

Explore Footfall Use Cases