The Future Role of Social Networks in Urban Planning

Citizens are continuously generating information about where they are located and what are they doing through LBSN. The concept of smart cities typically implies the deployment of intelligent infrastructures used to improve services for citizens. A number of cities have launched projects that range from optimizing transport to minimizing the impact of urban activity on the environment, being a good example the work done by Telefonica in SmartSantander. Although the deployment of such infrastructures is key, any city already has an implicit sensor infrastructure build using the phones carried by their citizens. In that sense, the increasing capabilities of mobile devices allow individuals to leave behind footprints of their interaction with the urban environment, particularly with the use of Location-based social networks (LBSN).