Analysis of Public Space Dynamics Based on Instagram and Flickr Data

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The general increase in the use of social media platforms since 2010 is related to the growing amount of data collected on the Internet, which may represent an opportunity for urban research. By analysing publicly available geolocated data from social media platforms, it is possible to track changes in the attractiveness and spatiotemporal dynamics of public spaces through their different stages of development. In this paper, we analyse data obtained from the Instagram and Flickr - for both platforms, user-sharing photographs is their main feature. Photos taken during daily interactions in public space have a symbolic value. In addition, social media posts contain valuable metadata that can be used for analysis and information discovery. In research, social media posts are used to measure and identify the attractiveness and dynamics of a selected public space. Data was collected by using the REST API technology. Two case studies are presented that retrospectively analyse the attractiveness and dynamics of selected public spaces from Graz (Austria) and Maribor (Slovenia). The research results show that the data from the Flickr platform, which provides access to the exact geolocation of the posted photos, can show the attractiveness of the locations, as the popular sights in both cities were clearly identified on the generated heatmaps. The maps showed locations that were perceived as important and attractive by residents or visitors in order to document them, which indicates certain motivation or even quality that confirms the expected correlation. With the methodology presented, the data collected on the Instagram social media platform can, to a certain extent, reflect the activities carried out in the physical public space, even if it cannot provide a complete picture. The research results are considered a valuable proxy for determining the general level of social interaction in public space. The methodology presented demonstrates the innovative approach to retrospective analysis of dynamics and changing attractiveness from social media perspective in public space. In the future, however, more social media data will be available, which will allow a more specific analysis and - in combination with other data sources - a more effective detection of deficiencies in public space, but also better urban planning and management. Finally, there is an enormous potential for retrospective research using the comparative method, but also for linking new ICT driven approaches with traditional methods.