Exploring rural community place assessment through mobility and social media data in Fort Gaines, Georgia

Abstract

AbstractIn community design efforts, the analysis of public stakeholders' perceptions and usage of community places can inform decisions affecting the built environment. However, accessing this information can be problematic, especially in rural areas where residents are mostly hard‐to‐reach groups. For the site analysis process for a rural town, this study implements mobile application data to explore visitation patterns and social media data to understand the perspectives of residents. Findings reveal the importance of particular community spaces which might have been overlooked through traditional approaches. The study shares how Big Data can be incorporated into site analysis to benefit underserved communities.