1. The Urban Audit in France

2. Organisation
Positive
Negative
Regrets

3. Organisation
The French NUAC is head of the Urban & Neighbourhood Statistics unit since the start of UA2
Contact with external providers, quality checks
Human resources taken from a sub-unit in Orléans devoted to administrative data processing
1,5 persons in 2007: data collection from external providers, processing of internally available data
Reduced availability of human resources in : dissemination of the new census, valuation of public action towards deprived neighbourhoods
=> UA is an additional task
Grants are of no help in the case of France

4. Positive  Out of the well-trodden paths
New topics not covered by the NSI, but connected.
Environment
Public transports
Administrative levels vs. statistical ones
=> Strong will to collaborate on a new knowledge tool about cities
Voluntary participation, costs of data collection taken by INSEE
Extension to all cities

5. Negative Some facts
UA 2003: About 75 % of the data provided, 130 cities available
An attempt to write a study using audit data in cooperation with some urban planning agencies: failed
A tool for disseminating results: not used
UA 2006: About 40 % of the data provided, 35 cities available (mandatory ones)
SCD level dropped
Perspectives for 2009 are not good

6. Negative: is it really serious? Part one: data collection (1)
No link with standard activities of NSIs
Standard data production processes are not concerned:
useful surveys disappear (prices of houses, waste management),
other surveys could be adapted to Urban Audit needs (prices for housing, public transport), but there is no basis for that
The Urban Audit is an additional burden for external data providers without any benefit for them: it worked only because of existing relations between persons (education, health)

7. Negative: is it really serious? Part one: data collection (2)
Potential conflicts with standard activities
We need elaborated estimation techniques but we are not encouraged to develop them:
National quality standards exist (disposable income, GDP)
Some topics are potentially controversial (population, unemployment, segregation)
It is difficult to request help from cities: data collection from cities may interfere with tasks managed by INSEE on the basis of national regulations (census preparation)
=> Involvement of the NSI does not go further than the involvement of the NUAC

8. Negative : is it really serious? Part two : data usage (1)
No convincing example of the use of data by the cities
Urban Audit results in use only in larger cities, but some have already their own tools
Audit not present for the most important topics
Official availability rate is a fake (weight of demographic variables): far too much missing data (environment, transports)
Data is too old
Approach is too weak for some topics (complementarity of cities, urban sprawl, environment, infrastructure for businesses)

9. Negative : is it really serious? Part two : data usage (2)
Data usability not clear : focus on comparability between cities of a same country was a main error
Meaning of the geographical units in other countries?
Consequences of the differences between national interpretations of definitions?
Consequences of the estimation processes for comparisons?
=>Involvement of cities is weak

10. Regrets Too much bilateral, top down oriented
NSIs should not been viewed as contractors
There are statisticians there!
They have better tools or local knowledge to make technical choices
Not enough exchanges of good practices
Too few information about the way the data was built in other countries
Are we so ashamed at the consequences of Eurostat’s repeated request?
We have not left the well-trodden paths
Status quo about the way of measuring topics
Urban Audit is a difficult task that needs all existing methodological work
Caught by the ”all purpose data base syndrome”
What are the questions behind the indicators behind the variables?

11. Conclusion
The Urban Audit should be strengthened around a limited number of indicators
A legal base (Regulation) is mandatory