User Spatial Content in Social Research: Approaches, Opportunities, and Challenges

Ciro Clemente De Falco ()
Additional contact information
Ciro Clemente De Falco: Department of Social Sciences, University of Naples “Federico II”, 80138 Napoli, Italy

Societies, 2025, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-12

Abstract: The availability of user-generated spatial data (user spatial content, USC) has transformed social science research, enabling the real-time, large-scale exploration of socio-spatial dynamics. This article traces the evolution from volunteered geographic information (VGI) to USC, highlighting their multidimensional nature and epistemological significance. Brief examples underscore USC’s potential for capturing the interplay between territorial factors, digital activity, and social phenomena, ranging from mapping urban vitality to tracking large-scale crises. However, the recent tightening of data access in the post-API era demands a rethinking of research approaches. Alternatives such as data donation, dedicated applications, and geoparsing can maintain the viability of USC-driven analyses. Overall, this article underlines the need for diversified, ethical, and methodologically sound strategies to harness USC’s value in understanding the digitally intertwined realities of contemporary society.

Keywords: user spatial content; post-API era; spatial data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/4/96/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/15/4/96/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsoctx:v:15:y:2025:i:4:p:96-:d:1629829

Access Statistics for this article

Societies is currently edited by Ms. Farrah Sun

More articles in Societies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().