Detecting Socio-Economic Impact of Cultural Investment Through Geo-Social Network Analysis

TL;DR

This study uses geo-social network data from Foursquare to analyze how cultural investments influence socio-economic conditions in London, providing a new method for urban policy assessment.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach combining geo-social network analysis with socio-economic data to evaluate cultural investment impacts in small urban areas.

Findings

Relationship between socio-economic status and network features identified

Geo-social data effectively tracks local socio-economic changes

Policy implications for urban cultural investment suggested

Abstract

Taking advantage of nearly 4 million transition records for three years in London from a popular location-based social network service, Foursquare, we study how to track the impact and measure the effectiveness of cultural investment in small urban areas. We reveal the underlying relationships between socio-economic status, local cultural expenditure, and network features extracted from user mobility trajectories. This research presents how geo-social and mobile services more generally can be used as a proxy to track local changes as government financial effort is put in developing urban areas, and thus gives evidence and suggestions for further policy-making and investment optimization.