Place and City: Toward Urban Intelligence

Abstract

Place, as a concept, is subject to a lively, ongoing discussion involving different disciplines. However, most of these discussions approach the issue without a geographic perspective, which is the natural habitat of a place. This study contributes to this discourse through the exploratory examination of urban intelligence utilizing the geographical relationship between sense of place and social capital at the collective and individual level. Using spatial data collected through a web map-based survey, we perform an exhaustive examination of the spatial relationship between sense of place and social capital. We found a significant association between sense of place and social capital from a spatial point of view. Sense of place and social capital spatial dimensions obtain a non-disjoint relationship for approximately half of the participants and a spatial clustering when they are aggregated. This research offers a new exploratory perspective for place studies in the context of cities, and simultaneously attempts to depict a platial–social network based on sense of place and social capital, which cities currently lack.

Place and City: merging our affective and social spatial dimension in the (smart) platial city

“…We highlight the suitability of these social concepts to encapsulate human notions that can be rendered on a map and we elucidate connections with already understanding of cities as place networks (Acedo et al, 2018a;Massey, 1994;Roche, 2016). Bridging (spatial) scholarship within social theory and environmental psychology through a participatory methodology using GISc techniques in a continually shifting city network environment (Duff, 2011;Latour, 2005;Murdoch, 1998), expands the participatory research agenda and embraces two general areas (i.e., GISc and humanities) that, unfortunately, has been rarely analyzed together in deep (Bodenhamer et al, 2010).…”

“…We developed a web map-based survey based on literature to spatialize, characterize and measure sense of place, social capital and civic engagement (Acedo et al, 2017a). Using the spatial data collected, we operationalized and validated the framework mentioned-above at the city context (Acedo et al, 2018a). We obtained a significant non-disjoint spatial relationship between sense of place and social capital, as well as a (spatial) characterization of both in Lisbon city.…”

“…It forms the practical ground to build different studies on top of it. The text from this chapter has been published by Acedo et al (2018a).…”

“…Recently, Acedo et al (2018a) also put in value the understanding of a city by platial urban dynamics, arguing the potentiality to conceptualize SoP and SC as inhibitors of place notion based on Agnew (2002Agnew ( , 2011. Those mentioned conceptualizations can apply to any city, the challenge resides on how to operationalize those arrangements in the city context to better understand the urban synergies.…”

“…Hence, the study of individuals' spatialities (i.e., individuals or collectives practices related to their geographical location that reflects their spatial actions and interactions (Lussault, 2007)) regarding SoP and SC in the city context can offer an alternative to better understand and foster participatory processes (i.e., CE). Our approach has its roots in the understanding of cities as place networks (Acedo et al, 2018a;Massey, 1994;Roche, 2016) and how we can comprehend a relational space based on networks of actions and actors (e.g. humans, objects) (Duff, 2011;Latour, 2005;Murdoch, 1998).…”