Population figures tell us where Belgians have their official residence. However, in reality, it's more complex than that: in the daytime we go to work, the shops or to school, and at night many stay in a hospital, student accommodation, or in a hotel. The day and night-time capacity of buildings offers a clear reflection of this dynamic. Utility companies, governments and marketeers can gain clear insights. The day and night-time capacity for Wallonia is now available in Belmap, the 3D database for building and addresses.

Official population figures show who lives where. This information is very useful, but only reflects one side of social reality. During the day, the picture is completely different: we go to school, the office, the shops or the hospital. Or we go to a hotel at the coast, or in the Ardennes. In order to understand such a complex dynamic, we have included a new module in Belmap.

The day and night-time capacity of buildings reflects the occupation that can be expected at different times of day. An office is empty at night, but - in normal times - accommodates hundreds of employees in the daytime. At such moments, there is less residential data traffic or electricity consumption, but this picture can be turned upside down during a pandemic or winter weather.
Such information has many useful applications:

• Utility companies use this information to size their network. This means they can correctly align their network with the day and night-time occupation of all buildings in a particular region.
• Marketing professionals and real estate planners gain insights about the presence of people in different places, plus their travel behaviour.
• Authorities and mobility experts extract useful information about people's presence and travel behaviour at different times of day.

Do you also have a use for the day and night-time capacity of buildings?