Open Data Insight of the Day

Street cleanliness in Basel is assessed using a cleanliness index derived from video footage captured by street-sweeping vehicles. The Grand Council has set a target cleanliness index of 4.5, aiming for a high standard of urban cleanliness. This index is calculated by analyzing litter detected in the footage and is reported on a scale from 0 to 5, with higher scores indicating cleaner streets.

In December 2025, data was collected from 4,470 street sections, resulting in 104,652 individual measurements. The cleanliness index ranged from a minimum of 3.69 to a maximum of 5.0, with an average value of 4.69. Impressively, 83.6% of the measurements exceeded the required threshold of 4.5, while 16.4% fell below it.

The top five districts with the highest average cleanliness were Vorstädte, Bruderholz, Altstadt Grossbasel, St. Alban, and Breite, all boasting average cleanliness indices above 4.7. Conversely, the districts of Matthäus, Clara, Altstadt Kleinbasel, Iselin, and Klybeck were at the bottom, with average indices ranging from 4.51 to 4.67. It's important to note that while average cleanliness is a common metric, rankings can vary when considering other indicators like the percentage of measurements above the 4.5 threshold.

Comparing data from January 2024 to December 2025, there is a noticeable improvement in street cleanliness. The percentage of measurements rated as good (4.0 or better) increased from 98.8% to 99.6%, and those exceeding the 4.5 threshold rose from 67.8% to 83.6%. This positive trend suggests that overall street cleanliness in Basel is improving over time, as illustrated in Figure 1.