CDRC affiliated researchers show how check-in activity between different venues can support urban planning

Researchers in the Geographic Data Science Lab at the University of Liverpool have shown how mobility data can provide insights into the structure and function of cities.

They conducted a study of human behavioural patterns using a longitudinal mobility dataset from the Foursquare Future Cities Challenge (FCC) to describe check-in activity (movement) between different venues (point of interests) across ten global cities including London, New York and Singapore. From this analysis, the researchers developed a Geographic Data Science framework that transformed the Foursquare check-in locations and user origin-destination flows data into knowledge about the emerging forms and characteristics of cities’ neighbourhoods.

Work like this will enable urban planners to understand more about the nuances of human behaviour to create better experiences for the population and guide urban development.

Have a look at the FourSquare data and insights blog to read more about this interesting work and what the researchers discovered.