Urban Modeling and Social Media

Urban models are essential for understanding the structure and dynamics of cities and for testing the impact of changes in the locations of land use and  transportation on the urban environment. As a result of the increased involvement of social media (SM) or digital social networks (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Gowalla and Foursquare data) in contemporary urban society they can be relevant for urban modeling in two was. First, they can serve as an appropriate unique provider of data that can tell us how, and when, individuals are using urban spaces. Second, as they have potential effect on individuals’ spatial behavior and urban dynamics they should be taken into consideration in urban modeling. In the following I discuss the relevance and potential of SM for urban modeling.