Epures

What Epures does

Epures (legally 'association epures'), branded as 'epures, l'Agence d'urbanisme des territoires ligériens', is a French non-profit urban planning agency founded on 23 January 1967 and headquartered in Saint-Étienne. It provides urban planning studies, territorial observation, and evidence-based policy support to local and regional public authorities across the Loire and adjacent Haute-Loire departments, including communes, intercommunalités (EPCI), departmental councils, metropolitan structures, and state services. Its work spans urban planning, housing, mobility, economic development, environment, health-urban planning integration, heritage, and planning document elaboration (PLUi, SCoT).

The agency's core product suite is built around a set of territorial observation platforms and recurring studies. e-observ' aggregates demographic and statistical data; e-mob' hosts mobility observation, including the Cerema-certified EMC² large-scale household mobility survey conducted roughly every ten years since 1992 (2021 wave covered two-thirds of Loire and one-third of Haute-Loire); e-santé-urba' integrates health factors into planning documents; the Base de données patrimoine inventories Saint-Étienne Métropole's architectural and landscape heritage; and the Toile industrielle tool maps industrial ecosystem actor relationships. These platforms rest on 58 years of continuous territorial observation producing longitudinal datasets, disseminated through publications, webinaires, and a monthly e-data infographic format. The agency delivers over 5,000 working days of activity per year across six thematic axes.

Epures is structured as an association loi 1901, funded entirely through annual membership contributions from its public authority partners, formalised through a Partenarial Activity Program approved by the General Assembly. There are no commercial pricing, equity instruments, or external funding rounds. It is a member of the FNAU national federation of 49 French urban planning agencies and the regional Urba4 network. The agency is operationally led by Director General Benoit Gay; President Jean-Pierre Berger concluded a nine-year mandate in early 2026, during which the agency rebranded, added 20 new partners, and supported approval of two PLUi and one SCoT.

Name

Epures

Legal name

association epures

Website

https://epures.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1967

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Epures is a French non-profit urban planning agency founded in 1967, headquartered in Saint-Étienne, that provides territorial observation, urban planning studies, and policy support to public authority partners across the Loire territory via platforms such as e-observ', e-mob', and e-santé-urba'.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Saint-Étienne

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Partnership Contributions: Epures operates as an association funded through annual contributions from its public authority members (communes, intercommunalités, departments, regions, state services). The partnership program is formalized through an annual Partenarial Activity Program approved by the General Assembly.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Epures is a non-profit urban planning agency (agence d'urbanisme des territoires ligériens) that provides territorial observation, urban planning studies, mobility surveys, housing analysis, economic monitoring, and data platforms to public authorities in the Loire and Haute-Loire departments of France. The agency delivers technical support for planning documents (PLUi, SCoT), runs multi-thematic observatories, and produces publications, webinaires, and events to support evidence-based territorial development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• e-observ': Observatory resource tool
• e-mob'
• e-santé-urba'
• e-data

Products and services

• e-observ'
• e-mob'
• e-santé-urba'
• Enquête Mobilité Certifiée Cerema (EMC²)
• Toile industrielle
• Base de données patrimoine
• Photothèque / Cartothèque

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 5,000 working days of activity annually across 6 thematic axes
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Urba4 (Réseau des agences d'urbanisme Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Regional network of 4 urban planning agencies in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Saint-Étienne, Lyon, Grenoble, Clermont-Ferrand) covering 4.5 million inhabitants. Collaborates on shared studies, methodology development, and regional policy positions.
• Espace métropolitain Lyon Saint-EtiennemajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Metropolitan cooperation between Lyon and Saint-Étienne covering 3.22 million inhabitants. Two agencies collaborate on cross-territorial issues including mobility, economic development, and environmental planning.
• FNAU (Fédération nationale des agences d'urbanisme)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 January 1967National federation of 49 French urban planning agencies covering 40 million inhabitants. Epures participates in national conferences, collaborative studies, and knowledge-sharing networks. The FNAU organizes annual national encounters and coordinates position papers on urban planning policy.
• DDT 42 (Direction Départementale des Territoires de la Loire)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartmental directorate of the French Ministry of Ecology. Co-manages the Observatoire Départemental de l'Habitat and Plan Départemental de l'Habitat 2021-2026 with epures.
• Conseil Départemental de la LoiremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDepartmental council of Loire. Co-manages the Plan Départemental de l'Habitat and Observatoire Départemental de l'Habitat with epures and DDT 42.
• CeremacoreTechnology or IntegrationPublic research institute for territorial development. Collaborates on Enquêtes Mobilité Certifiées Cerema (EMC²), providing certified mobility data and methodological support for the Saint-Étienne/Loire/Pilat survey.
• Saint-Étienne MétropolemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMetropolitan authority of Saint-Étienne. Core partner for urban planning studies, economic monitoring, housing observation, and mobility surveys. Hosts the Toile industrielle project.
• Loire Forez agglomérationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIntermunicipal authority covering Loire Forez area. Partner for habitat observation, urban planning support, and center village revitalization programs.
• EPORA (Établissement Public Foncier de l'Ouest Rhône-Alpes)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic land development agency. Co-organizes scenes on land-use optimization (sobriété foncière) and collaborates on economic land analysis.
• ARS Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (Agence Régionale de Santé)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional health agency. Collaborated on Plan Régional Santé Environnement (PRSE3) action integrating health considerations into planning documents.
• ADEME Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironment and energy management agency. Collaborated on thermal inefficiency housing study and energy transition planning.
• Loire Forez agglomération, Roanne Agglomération, Saint-Chamond, and other local EPCImajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork of intermunicipal authorities in the Loire territory subscribing to epures observation services and participating in the partnership program.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• FNAU (Fédération nationale des agences d'urbanisme): Others as the national federation of 49 French urban planning agencies that Epures belongs to and actively participates in. Not a competitor but an ecosystem umbrella organization that enables knowledge-sharing, joint methodology work, and collective policy positioning across member agencies including Epures.

Direct peers

• Agence d'urbanisme de Grenoble: Direct peer as a French agence d'urbanisme serving the Grenoble-Alpes-Métropole area, and a co-member of the Urba4 regional network with Epures. Delivers planning studies and territorial observation to public authority partners using the same association-based model.
• Agence d'urbanisme et de développement Clermont Métropole: Direct peer as the agence d'urbanisme serving Clermont-Ferrand Métropole, and the fourth member of the Urba4 regional network alongside Epures. Operates under identical association-based, member-funded framework with comparable deliverables.
• Agence d'urbanisme de l'agglomération de Tours (ATU): Direct peer as a French agence d'urbanisme serving the Tours metropolitan area with territorial observation, housing, mobility, and economic studies for member EPCIs and communes. Same association governance, same FNAU membership, and same public-authority partnership model as Epures.
• Agence d'urbanisme de la métropole de Lyon (UrbaLyon): Direct peer as another French agence d'urbanisme serving a major metropolitan area, and co-member of the Urba4 regional network alongside Epures. Both agencies deliver observation, planning studies, and PLUi/SCoT support to public authority partners on a membership-contribution model.
• ADEUPa Brest: Direct peer as a French agence d'urbanisme serving the Brest metropolitan area, providing territorial observation, planning studies, and economic analysis to member public authorities. Comparable in mission, governance (association loi 1901), and reliance on FNAU network collaboration.
• Institut Paris Région (formerly IAU îdF): Direct peer as the urban planning agency for the Île-de-France region, conducting observation, prospective studies, and planning support for regional public authorities under a membership governance model. Comparable to Epures in mandate scope and partnership-based funding structure.
• Atelier Parisien d'Urbanisme (APUR): Direct peer as one of France's leading agences d'urbanisme, serving the Paris metropolis through territorial observation and planning studies. Operates the same association-based, member-funded model and is a member of FNAU, making it structurally comparable to Epures at a larger scale.

Regional players

• EPORA (Établissement Public Foncier de l'Ouest Rhône-Alpes): Regional peer as a public land agency operating in the same Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region with which Epures co-organizes events on land-use optimization. Operates in a related but distinct domain (land redevelopment and foncier strategy) and shares public-authority partners within the Loire territory.

Broad incumbents

• Cerema: Broad incumbent as a national public research institute for territorial development that co-delivers the EMC² mobility survey with Epures. Provides certified mobility methodology and serves as a higher-tier technical authority that supports, but does not replace, the localized observation function of agences d'urbanisme.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/epures

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Epures