Urban data: harnessing subjective sociocultural data from local newspapers

Abstract

As data-based governance becomes mainstream, social and cultural interactions that characterise urban life are at risk of being ignored in decision-making practices if only supposedly objective, quantifiable data are used. In this context, this article conceptualises subjective sociocultural data as a data form that considers a city’s intangible and unquantifiable social and cultural aspects. A methodology is proposed for collecting and using subjective sociocultural data by highlighting local press articles as a potential data source. A pilot application conducted in Hamburg, Germany, demonstrates a potential integration of subjective sociocultural data into urban planning processes by analysing over 2500 local newspaper articles. The findings reveal that local journalism can be a data source for understanding diverse social and cultural interactions between citizens and urban places. This street-level information from local newspaper articles can (1) provide urban planners with an overview of newspaper mentions of any specific urban areas, (2) support the identification of local debates, and (3) aid in the observation of emerging places of sociocultural interactions. This approach can support the diverse government and non-government stakeholders engaged in data-based governance to better account for intangible sociocultural aspects of urban life. Practice relevance This research supports governance actors in dealing with the epistemological limitations of purposely gathered and/or objective data by conceptualising a new—currently untapped—data type: subjective sociocultural data sourced from local journalism. By using geographical text analysis on local newspaper articles, urban planners and decision-makers gain access to a wealth of street-level information, local debates and temporal dynamics of urban issues. This approach provides a comprehensive understanding of intangible and unquantifiable aspects of urban life, allowing for more informed and context-sensitive decision-making. The practical benefits include identifying diverse uses of urban spaces, capturing local public debates, and tracking the emergence and disappearance of places in the public sphere, possibly leading to more effective and inclusive urban planning practices.

Keywords

• cities
• data-based governance
• data politics
• datafication
• local journalism
• planning
• sociocultural data
• subjective data
• urban data
• urban governance