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A Toolkit for Measuring Visitation in Third Places

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Abstract

This paper investigates the utility of information and communication technologies data for the measurement of visitation dynamics in third places across a large metropolitan university campus. A suite of seven metrics encompassing intensity, popularity, capacity, tempo, dwell, churn, and periodicity are employed to describe the visitation dynamics of each third place. Findings suggest that despite overt functional similarities, significant variability exists in the visitation dynamics of third places. Increasing pervasiveness of Wi-Fi networks in public spaces will improve the utility of social sensing data in recording the spatial and temporal dynamics of visitation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Queensland Centre for Population Research, University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4067, Australia

    Rosabella Borsellino, Elin Charles-Edwards & Jonathan Corcoran

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  1. Rosabella Borsellino
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  2. Elin Charles-Edwards
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  3. Jonathan Corcoran
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Correspondence to Rosabella Borsellino.

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Borsellino, R., Charles-Edwards, E. & Corcoran, J. A Toolkit for Measuring Visitation in Third Places. Appl. Spatial Analysis 14, 547–562 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12061-020-09372-1

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