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Mapping Cultural Ecosystem Services for the Continental US Using Social Media
Citation:
VanBerkel, D., K. Tieskens, B. Van Zanten, A. Davis, M. Mehaffey, A. Neale, AND J. Darling. Mapping Cultural Ecosystem Services for the Continental US Using Social Media. Ecosystem Services Partnership (ESP), Shenzhen, CHINA, December 11 - 15, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
Being both crowdsourced and geographically representative, social media data offers insight into attitudes and perceptions of interaction with nature throughout societies. In this paper, we present a methodology developed for the EnvrioAtlas that leverages social media to map Cultural Ecosystem Services for the continental US.
Description:
There is increasing recognition of the positive impact of landscape on the health and well-being of individuals. As the backdrop of outdoor activities they offer many societally beneficial cultural ecosystem services (CES) contributing to rest and relaxation, restorative and cognitive wellness, as well as inspiration. Across societies, families and individuals there is diverse appreciation of these benefits, but also common core beliefs about the location of special places and the scenic qualities that make these landscapes attractive. These perceptions are based on emotional responses, cognitive constructs and culturally embedded values that are difficult to unravel due to diversity among individuals and variation and character of landscapes. Investigating this diversity has become increasingly possible with the massive amounts of georeferenced content volunteered through social media outlets. Being both crowdsourced and geographically representative, social media data offers insight into attitudes and perceptions of interactions with nature. In this paper, we present a methodology developed for the US Environmental Protection Agency’s EnviroAtlas that leverages social media to map CES for the continental US. We evaluate Panoramio and Twitter as data sources for understanding American landscape values. While there is high diversity, results confirm that certain iconic features--e.g. the ‘open road’ and desert landscapes--are highly appreciated. We also investigate the relationship between the sentiment of Tweets related to landscapes, which offers insight into emotional responses of specific locations. Social media allows for both qualitative and quantitative evaluation of CES, at fine scales unlikely to be possible through traditional survey and participatory mechanisms.
