FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

Urban Score is a city intelligence tool that helps people understand how well a location supports their everyday needs. It combines local data, pedestrian routes and user-selected priorities to show how easily important places and services can be reached on foot.

The first working implementation, Urban Score Zagreb, allows users to explore locations across Zagreb based on the amenities that matter most to them.

Information about schools, healthcare, public transport, parks and other local services often exists across multiple datasets and platforms. Urban Score brings this information together and presents it through a simple, location-based experience.

This makes city data easier to understand and more useful for everyday decisions.

Walkability is an important part of Urban Score, but the platform goes beyond a general walkability rating.

Users can select the services and amenities that matter to them, while the platform evaluates a location according to those individual priorities. Two people can therefore receive different results for the same location.

Urban Score can support:

• residents exploring their neighbourhood
• people choosing where to live or relocate
• families comparing access to schools, parks and services
• cities making public data more accessible
• urban planners and public organisations
• researchers and local development initiatives
• housing and location-based service providers

The user selects a location and chooses the types of places or services that matter to them. Urban Score then analyses the available local data, pedestrian routes and estimated walking times.

The result shows how closely the selected location matches the user’s everyday priorities.

Yes. Urban Score is built around the idea that a good location means something different to each person.

Users can prioritise categories such as education, healthcare, public transport, shops, parks, culture, sports facilities and other everyday services. Available categories may vary between city implementations.

Urban Score uses pedestrian routing where suitable routing data is available. This provides a more realistic picture than measuring only the direct distance between two points.

Actual walking conditions can still be affected by temporary closures, construction work, accessibility barriers and changes in the urban environment.

Users can explore multiple locations and evaluate each one using the same selected priorities. This makes it easier to understand how access to everyday services differs between neighbourhoods.

A dedicated side-by-side comparison feature can also be considered as part of future platform development or a city-specific implementation.

Urban Score can combine data about:

• schools and kindergartens
• healthcare and pharmacies
• public transport
• parks and green spaces
• shops and everyday services
• cultural institutions
• sports and recreation facilities
• other locally relevant amenities

The exact data sources and categories depend on what is available for each city.

The platform can use official open data, public registers, geospatial datasets and other reliable local sources.

Each city implementation begins with an assessment of available data, its structure, geographical coverage and suitability for public use.

Urban Score reflects the quality and currency of its underlying data sources. Data can change when services open, close or move, or when public datasets are updated.

The platform is intended as an informative decision-support tool. Users should confirm important details directly with the relevant institution or service provider.

The update frequency depends on the source and the technical setup of each implementation. Some datasets may be updated automatically, while others require scheduled imports or periodic review.

An appropriate update process is defined for each city according to the availability and format of its data.

Yes. Urban Score was first implemented in Zagreb and is designed for adaptation to other cities and regions.

Each implementation can reflect local:

• datasets and public services
• policy and development priorities
• administrative structures
• transport systems
• languages
• visual identity
• accessibility requirements
• scoring criteria

The starting point is access to suitable location-based data about public services, amenities and transport.

We then assess:

• which datasets are available
• how complete and current they are
• which resident needs should be represented
• what routing and mapping infrastructure is suitable
• which languages and accessibility standards are required
• how the platform should be presented and maintained

A city does not need to have every dataset prepared in advance. Data assessment and integration planning can form part of the project.

Yes. Existing open-data portals can provide an important foundation for implementation. Urban Score can connect relevant datasets and transform them into a practical, citizen-facing experience.

The integration approach depends on the available formats, APIs, licensing conditions and consistency of the data.

Yes. The model can be configured to represent the needs and policy priorities of an individual city.

Depending on the project, this may include pedestrian accessibility, public transport, cycling infrastructure, proximity to public services, access to green spaces or the needs of specific resident groups.

Urban Score has a working implementation in Zagreb and a platform concept designed for adaptation. Implementations for other cities are currently approached as tailored projects because datasets, priorities, languages and technical environments differ between locations.

This approach ensures that the resulting service reflects the actual context of each city.

The timeline depends on the availability and quality of local data, the required features, integrations, languages and approval processes.

Following an initial data and requirements assessment, we can define the project scope, implementation phases and expected delivery schedule.