Keynote presentation at NoRSA 2019 Conference Seinäjoki, Finland, 19th June 2019, Https://Events.Uta.Fi/Norsa2019/ Big data in understanding urban (and regional) dynamics. To learn more about our work, visit: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/digital-geography-lab or follow us on Twitter: @digigeolab @TuuliToivonen

1. BIG DATA IN
UNDERSTANDING
URBAN
(AND REGIONAL)
DYNAMICS
TUULI TOIVONEN /
DIGITAL GEOGRAPHY LAB
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION AT NORSA 2019 CONFERENCE
SEINÄJOKI, 19TH JUNE 2019, HTTPS://EVENTS.UTA.FI/NORSA2019/

2. BIG DATA IN
UNDERSTANDING
URBAN
(AND REGIONAL)
DYNAMICS
TUULI TOIVONEN /
DIGITAL GEOGRAPHY LAB

3. BIG DATA FOR MOBILITY ANALYSIS

4. BIG DATA FOR MOBILITY ANALYSIS

5. TOWARDS 24 HOUR SOCIETY

6. TOWARDS INCREASED MOBILITY
AND MORE MOBILITY OPTIONS

7. TOWARDS SMARTER/SUSTAINABLE CITIES?

8. TOWARDS MORE
INVIDUALISTIC SOCIETY

9. HELSINKI IS…
Photo: Visit Helsinki/Jussi Hellsten
TOWARDS NEW REGIONS?

10. SOCIETY OF MOBILITIES
The space of flows in the global network society
(Castells, 1996)
“The new mobilities paradigm” in social sciences
(Urry 2000; Sheller & Urry 2007)
Interdependent & constant mobilities of everything:
people, objects, images, information, wastes…
Mobility, a prerequisite for social interaction,
the creation of social status & socio-spatial inequalities
(Kaufmann et al., 2004)
Mobilities as a new form of capital
(Kaufmann et al., 2004; Urry, 2007)

13. SOURCES OF SPATIAL BIG DATA
ON PEOPLE
COLLECTION
CAMPAIGNS
USER-GENERATED
CONTENT
(AS A SIDE PRODUCT)
USER-GENERATED
CONTENT (ACTIVE)
• Remote sensing, laser scanning
• Surveillance cameras (CCTV; ANPR)
• Visitor counters
• Registrations (border control)
• Use of smart phone
• Loyalty cards
• Internet use (WLAN, clicks)
• Use of mobile Apps
• Social Media
• Sports Applications

14. BIG DATA AS AN
INFORMATION SOURCE
• The emergence of big novel data sources (Kitchin, 2014)
provide new opportunities – digital footprints – to
understanding the realities of our environment and
societies!

15. Toivonen, T., Heikinheimo, V., Fink, C., Hausmann, A., Hiippala, T., Järv, O.,
Tenkanen, H., Di Minin, E.
Social media data for conservation science: a methodological overview. Biological
Conservation (2019).

16. (Järv et al. 2017)
• ANTENNA LEVEL DATA
• CDR DATA
• EEA DATA

17. WHERE?
WHAT?
WHY?WHO?
WHEN?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER
PROFILES
CONTENTS
Di Minin, Tenkanen & Toivonen (2015)
Frontiers in Environmental Science
DYNAMICS OF
PEOPLE

18. WHERE? WHEN?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER
PROFILES
CONTENTS
DYNAMICS OF
PEOPLE

19. NATIONAL PARK VISITS VS.
SOCIAL MEDIA USERS
Tenkanen et al. (2017) Scientific Reports 7, Article number: 17615

20. Levin et al. (2015) Where have all the
people gone? Enhancing global
conservation using night lights and social
media.
Ecological Applications
Volume 25, Issue 8, pages 2153-2167, 1 DEC 2015 DOI:
10.1890/15-0113.1
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1890/15-
0113.1/full#i1051-0761-25-8-2153-f04

21. R: 0.94
FINNISH NATIONAL PARK VISITS VS. SOCIAL
MEDIA USERS
Tenkanen et al. (2017) Scientific reports

22. Total photo-user-days each week from
2006–2012 in (a) Zuccotti Park, the site of
the occupy protest, (b) Black Rock Desert,
the site of the Burning Man festival, and
(c) southern Vermont, an area popular
for viewing autumn foliage. Grey shading
indicates time periods from the start of
the protest until people were barred
from the park (a), three weeks spanning
the annual week-long festival (b), or the
month of October each year (c).
Wood et al. (2013)
http://www.nature.com/articles/srep02976

23. Bergroth 2019, https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/302228
Urban pulse on a 24-hour cycle in Helsinki

24. Urban pulse in different areas Bergroth 2019

25. ESTIMATED HOURLY SHARE OF POPULATION WITHIN THE INNER
CITY OF HELSINKI
Bergroth 2019

26. Bergroth 2019
CUMULATIVE POPULATION REACHING THE CLOSEST
GROCERY STORE BY PUBIC TRANSPORTATION

27. Digital Geography Lab
Bikesharing in Helsinki
Elias Willberg 2019
Read more: https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/301581

28. WHERE? WHEN?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER
PROFILES
CONTENTS
DYNAMICS OF
PEOPLE
MOBILITY

29. INTERNATIONAL MOBILITIES to
KRUGER NATIONAL PARK
Toivonen, T., Heikinheimo, V., Fink, C., Hausmann, A., Hiippala, T., Järv, O., Tenkanen, H., Di Minin, E.
Social media data for conservation science: a methodological overview. Biological Conservation (2019).
READ THIS PAPER IF INTERESTED IN USING SOCIAL MEDIA:
Chapters 1-2 relate to conservation science, from Chapter 3 onwards general data description and methods useful for any spatial analytics.

30. CROSS BORDER MOBILITIES: TWEET MOBILITIES OF FINNS (YELLOW) AND ESTONIANS (BLUE)
WHO HAVE TWEETED IN BOTH COUNTRIES.
Ongoing work by Olle Järv, Tuomas Väisänen et al. Read more via https://bit.ly/31KELHo !

31. Digital Geography Lab
CROSS BORDER MOBILITIES: RUSSIAN MOBILITIES TO ESTONIA (GREEN), FINLAND (YELLOW)
AND BETWEEN THE TWO COUNTRIES (PINK).
Ongoing work by Olle Järv, Tuomas Väisänen et al. Read more via https://bit.ly/31KELHo !

32. EVERYDAY CROSSBORDER
COMMUTING PATTERNS
Homes locations of cross-border commuters of Luxembourg
Twitter data 2013-2018 vs Register data 2010
Authors: O. Järv, S. Massinen. DGL
2019
Cross-border mobility
Based on Twitter data
Ongoing work by Olle Järv, Samuli Massinen, et al. Read more via https://bit.ly/31KELHo !

33. TWITTER
CONNECTIONS
> 750
Sample: Twitter
users who
have posted in
Finland and Estonia
Work by Olle Järv,
Tuomas Väisänen et al.

34. TWITTER
CONNECTIONS
> 150
Sample: Twitter
users who
have posted in
Finland and Estonia
Work by Olle Järv,
Tuomas Väisänen et al.

35. TWITTER
CONNECTIONS
> 50
Sample: Twitter
users who
have posted in
Finland and Estonia
Work by Olle Järv,
Tuomas Väisänen et al.

36. TWITTER
CONNECTIONS
> 15
Sample: Twitter
users who
have posted in
Finland and Estonia
Work by Olle Järv,
Tuomas Väisänen et al.

37. SEINÄJOKI TWITTER

38. MOBILE PHONE
MOBILITIES
WITHIN ONE DAY
Source:
Telia Crowd Insights
Daily trips between municipalities
14.5 - 20.5.2018 & 2.7 – 8.7.2018

39. MUNICIPALITIES WITH MOST
CONNECTIONS WITH SEINÄJOKI
Source:
Telia Crowd Insights
Daily trips between municipalities
14.5 - 20.5.2018 & 2.7 – 8.7.2018

40. FUNCTIONAL REGIONS BASED ON MOBILITY
Ahas, R., Silm, S., Leetmaa, K., Tammaru, T., Saluveer, E., Järv, O., Aasa, A., Tiru,
M. (2010). The Regional Commuting Study. Estonian Ministry of the Interior.

41. WHAT?
WHY?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER PROFILES CONTENTS
DYNAMICSOF
PEOPLE
WHO?

42. PALLAS-YLLÄS NATIONAL PARK

43. Posts from a Finnish Instagram-user. 107 posts in total.
PALLAS-YLLÄS NATIONAL PARK

44. Rogers Pass Summit,
Canada
Schladming-Dachstein, Austria Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park,
Finland
Posts from a Finnish Instagram-user. 107 posts in total.
PALLAS-YLLÄS NATIONAL PARK

45. Enjoying the #spring
#sun of Lapland.
So though climb that
had to walk. Now back
to skis! #skiing #pallasylläs

46. Digital Geography Lab
Enjoying the #spring
#sun of Lapland.
So though climb that
had to walk. Now back
to skis! #skiing #pallasylläs
Enjoying the #spring
#sun of Lapland.
So though climb that
had to walk. Now back
to skis! #skiing #pallasylläs
A tree with snow
Two people skiing
Snow on the ground

47. Toivonen et al. 2019, in press (Conservation Biology)

48. GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER PROFILES CONTENTS
DYNAMICSOF
PEOPLE
WHO?

49. Revealing combinations
(Toivonen et al. 2019)

50. Languages
Tuomas Väisänen 2018, https://helda.helsinki.fi/handle/10138/301822

51. Hiippala et al. 2018
Digital Scholarship in the Humanities, fqy049, https://doi.org/10.1093/llc/fqy049

54. WHERE?
WHAT?
WHY?WHO?
WHEN?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER
PROFILES
CONTENTS
Di Minin, Tenkanen & Toivonen (2015)
Frontiers in Environmental Science
DYNAMICS OF
PEOPLE

55. DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVITY LOCATIONS
OUTSIDE TALLINN VISITED DURING ONE YEAR
The symbol size denotes the relative share of locations, and colour
represents the share of Russian-speaking visitors.

56. WHERE?
WHAT?
WHY?WHO?
WHEN?
GEOTAGS TIMESTAMPS
USER
PROFILES
CONTENTS
Di Minin, Tenkanen & Toivonen (2015)
Frontiers in Environmental Science
DYNAMICS OF
PEOPLE

57. BIG DATA PROVIDES
COMPLETELY NEW VIEWS ON THE
URBAN AND REGIONAL
DYNAMICS
VOLUME VARIETYVELOCITY

58. WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO
INFORMATION?

59. WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO
INFORMATION?
ARE WE MOVING BACK FROM
OPEN TO PROPRIETARY?

60. BIG DATA MAY TURN OUT
TO BE TOO SMALL
VOLUME?

61. VISUALISING,
ANALYSING,
VERYFYING
VERACITYVOLUME VELOCITY

62. VISUALISING,
ANALYSING,
VERYFYING
VERACITYVOLUME VELOCITY
MEANINGFUL
QUESTIONS!

63. DATA ANALYSIS IS CHALLENGING
– COLLABORATION IS VITAL
VARIETY VERACITYVARIABILITY

64. THERE IS ALWAYS BIAS:
WHO IS REPRESENTED?
VERACITYVERACITY

65. SPATIAL IS SPECIAL EVEN IN
BIG DATA ANALYTICS
VOLUME VARIETYVELOCITY

66. POSSIBILITY TO UNDERSTAND
THE DYNAMICS OF URBAN AND
REGIONAL DYNAMICS BETTER
-DAVIDS AND GOLIATHS-
VOLUME VARIETYVELOCITY

67. 19.6.2019
KIITOS!

68. DIGITAL GEOGRAPHY
LABSupporting sustainable spatial planning
using digital data and novel methods
http://www.helsinki.fi/digital-geography
@DigiGeoLab
@TuuliToivonen

69. THANKS TO MANY PEOPLE!
Enrico
Di Minin
Anna
Hausmann
Henrikki
Tenkanen
Olle
Järv
Vuokko
Heikinheimo
Tuomo
Hiippala
Supporting sustainable spatial planning
using digital data and novel methods
http://www.helsinki.fi/digital-geography
Christoph
Fink
Tuomas
Väisänen
Samuli
Massinen
Elias
Willberg
Claudia
Bergroth

70. 72
READ THIS PAPER IF INTERESTED IN USING or POTENTIAL OF SOCIAL MEDIA:
Chapters 1-2 relate to conservation science, from Chapter 3 onwards general data
description and methods useful for any spatial analytics.