Using social network data to improve planning and design of smart cities

Resumen

The Smart City concept has transformed the meaning of citizen participation. Smart Cities are characterized by being inclusive cities, i.e., cities for all. But the concept of inclusive city refers both to make it easy for citizens to use urban spaces and to involve citizens in the planning, design and management of cities. Citizens leave a trace when using public space and this information can be known, thanks to the last technological advances in the field of Information and Communication Technology It is the citizens themselves who voluntarily make these data available via social networking websites. It is therefore a new form of public participation. Knowing the real citizens’ use of public space is essential for the planning and design of Smart Cities. However, information in general is not and does not produce knowledge itself. Knowledge does not simply come from having access to large amounts of information. It is necessary to understand the databases and structure the information to ensure proper use of it. This research delves into problem solving on how to collect and how to process this information. Specifically, this paper focuses on obtaining data from social networking websites relating to the sports field. The main goal of this research is to introduce a citizen-centric urban planning approach by analysing the possibilities offered by the citizen-generated data retrieved from social networks for sport. As a result, the graphic representation of aggregated geospatial information in an urban context is proposed in order to improve the decision-making process for its planning and design.