In Marseille, dogs are wanderers without a destination in a city that seems to have forgotten their place. While their barks echo through alleyways lacking dedicated spaces, their owners struggle with an urban landscape that offers them few options. Most parks are off-limits, and the rare alternatives fail to fill the gap. Yet, these four-legged companions are not just a shadow in the urban scenery, they are an essential part of social cohesion, cleanliness, and community life. This study sheds light on a pressing issue in a city searching for solutions.
Why Marseille? Because despite its potential, the city lags significantly behind, ranking 35th out of 42 among the cities studied. This investigation aims to understand the reasons behind this gap and propose concrete solutions to improve the daily lives of residents and their four-legged companions.
Table of Contents
The Current Situation in Marseille
Accessibility and Identification of Canine Deserts
National Comparison: Dog-Friendly Cities in 2024
What is the City Doing?
Towards a Better Future: Solutions and Innovations
The Current Situation in Marseille
Distribution of Existing Canine Spaces
Poverty Rate by Neighborhood and Access to Canine Facilities
Access to canine facilities could also reflect the socio-economic disparities between neighborhoods. To explore this hypothesis, I analyzed the relationship between the residents' standard of living in each district and the density of dog-friendly amenities. The results, while nuanced, reveal interesting trends as well as limitations in statistical correlations.
Accessibility and Identification of Canine Deserts
In Quebec, the growing demand for dog parks has led several municipalities to establish clear implementation guidelines to ensure fair access to these facilities.
Drawing inspiration from these regulations, a canine facility is considered accessible if it is located within an 800-meter radius (as the crow flies) from its target area.
This distance corresponds to an estimated walking time of:
12 to 18 minutes at a leisurely pace (4 km/h)
10 to 15 minutes at a moderate pace (5 km/h)
Canine deserts are calculated from the neighborhood's epicenter.
Use the tool below, enter your address, and check for yourself whether you are in a canine desert by selecting a 0.8 km radius, or adjust the radius as needed.
Visualize the results :
National Comparison: Dog-Friendly Cities in 2024
42 cities, multiple criteria, and a ranking. For the past nine years, the magazine 30 Millions d’Amis has been publishing its barometer of cities with over 100,000 inhabitants in France where life is best with a dog.
Between 2023 and 2024, Marseille dropped seven places in this ranking, falling to 35th position. This decline highlights gaps in public policies dedicated to dogs. Let's examine the relationship between the canine infrastructure score (green spaces and dog parks) and the overall score obtained in the ranking.
Marseille scores well for dog parks, but performs poorly in terms of green spaces compared to other cities. In the top-left cluster, we also observe other cities with a similar situation but a higher overall average score. So, what explains Marseille’s particularly low ranking?
To answer this, let's take a closer look at some of the key evaluation criteria.
I chose to compare Marseille with Paris and Lyon, the three largest cities in France. I also included Nice in the analysis, as it has a similar number of dogs per inhabitant while standing out as a remarkable example of canine infrastructure, ranking 2nd nationwide.
For Marseille, these results indicate that significant efforts are needed to bridge the gap with the average across all three categories
What stands out the most is the lack of awareness campaigns, which puts Marseille at a clear disadvantage, creating an educational void compared to other major cities
Now, let’s analyze the remaining variables from the ranking.
Marseille ranks above average and ahead of Paris and Lyon in terms of engagement, indicating that this is not the city's main weakness
However, solidarity and the management of stray cats are other key areas where the city should focus its efforts
While cleanliness is only slightly below Lyon, its impact on quality of life makes it a critical area for improvement
Marseille vs. Nice: A Painful Comparison
It is observed that, like Marseille, all central neighborhoods in Nice have a dog facility located within 800 meters as the crow flies.
Nice's public policies for dogs stand out due to a well-distributed infrastructure, effective awareness measures, and a clear commitment to urban cleanliness.
Marseille, on the other hand, shows shortcomings in these areas, leading to less accessibility to dog facilities, insufficient owner awareness, and a lack of commitment to cleanliness.
What is the City Doing?
To be developed by the partner media.
Key Contacts
Marseille's "Animal in the City" Division
A municipal entity dedicated to managing animal-related issues across the city.
Christine Juste – Deputy Mayor of Marseille
Responsibilities: Environment, cleanliness, biodiversity, and urban animal policies.
Link to dogs: Oversees public policies related to animals in public spaces.
Likely working on:
Deployment of dog parks and waste bag dispensers.
Cleanliness of public spaces, including managing dog waste.
Nassera Benmarnia – Deputy Mayor
Responsibilities: Green spaces, parks, and urban nature initiatives.
Link to dogs: Manages and develops areas where dogs are permitted.
Likely working on:
Implementation of designated zones for dogs.
Policies on animal access to green spaces.
Lydia Frentzel – Municipal Councillor
Responsibilities: Urban animal policies.
Link to dogs: Oversees city-wide animal-related issues.
Likely working on:
Citizen awareness campaigns for dog owners.
Collaboration with associations to manage stray dogs and improve infrastructure.
Next Steps to Continue the Article
To provide accurate and relevant information to readers, it is essential to gather specific details on actions taken since 2023, including:
🐶 Current canine infrastructure: Availability of dog parks, designated dog areas (canisites), bag dispensers, etc.
🏗 Ongoing or upcoming projects: Development of new facilities, allocated budgets, and urban planning priorities.
🤝 Interdepartmental collaborations: Coordination between various city services (green spaces, urban cleanliness, etc.) to enhance dog-friendly services.
📢 Awareness initiatives: Educational campaigns and actions aimed at encouraging responsible pet ownership among citizens.
⚠ Challenges and concerns: Key resident demands, reports, and difficulties in managing urban animals.
By addressing these aspects, the article will provide a comprehensive overview of Marseille's canine policies and identify potential areas for improvement.
Towards a Better Future: Solutions and Innovations
Faced with the gaps identified in public policies and canine infrastructure, Marseille has an opportunity to reinvent itself and make the city more enjoyable for everyone. Here are concrete recommendations based on observations and comparisons:
To move towards a better future, Marseille must rethink its approach to urban planning. By integrating these proposals, the city could not only improve its ranking but, more importantly, create a more harmonious living environment for all its residents—whether they walk on two legs or four paws.
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