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An app is helping Parisians find sunny cafe terraces using OpenStreetMap data, surging to 20000 users.
The app helps Paris residents find sunny cafe terraces. (Image Credit: X)
A French app designed to track sunlight across the streets of Paris has surged in popularity this year, giving residents a digital tool to secure a coveted sunny spot at their favorite cafe terrace. The app, called Jveuxdusoleil (“I want sun”), uses sun-positioning algorithms and building-height data from the open-source platform OpenStreetMap to highlight which terraces are bathed in light and which are in shade. Users can suggest new spots or flag inaccuracies, making it a constantly updated, community-driven service.
Its creator, Jean-Charles Levenne, launched the project in 2020 to teach himself app development and solve what he described as a personal frustration- finding sun in a city of narrow streets and tall buildings.
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Popularity Spike After Dark Winter
While the app works globally, its use has been concentrated in Paris, where terrace culture is central to social life. Jean-Charles Levenne said the app’s appeal has grown sharply this year, with nearly 20,000 users logging on in a single week in March after France endured its darkest winter in three decades. He said, “It’s not always easy to find a sunny spot in this city,” adding that he makes no profit from the project and pays to maintain its servers.
Paris’ Love For Terraces And Sunlight
Terraces are often described as the city’s “second living room”- places where Parisians can sit for hours with a single espresso. But their numbers have declined sharply, from several thousand in the 1970s–80s to just over 1,000 today.
Experts warn that French bistrot culture is under threat from rising rents, globalization and changing social habits. Pierrick Bourgault, a journalist and author on bistrot culture, said it was “ironic but fitting” that technology like Jveuxdusoleil could help preserve the ritual.
“With its geographical visualization, the app situates you in the concrete world- it reminds us that there’s a sun that moves, the earth that turns,” Pierrick Bourgault said.
- Location :
Paris, France
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