Urban data: harnessing subjective sociocultural data from local newspapers: harnessing subjective sociocultural data from local newspapers

As data-based governance becomes mainstream, social and cultural interactions that
characterise urban life are at risk of being ignored in decision-making practices if only
supposedly objective, quantifiable data are used. In this context, this article conceptualises
subjective sociocultural data as a data form that considers a city’s intangible and
unquantifiable social and cultural aspects. A methodology is proposed for collecting and
using subjective sociocultural data by highlighting local press articles as a potential data
source. A pilot application conducted in Hamburg, Germany, demonstrates a potential
integration of subjective sociocultural data into urban planning processes by analysing
over 2500 local newspaper articles. The findings reveal that local journalism can be a data
source for understanding diverse social and cultural interactions between citizens and
urban places. This street-level information from local newspaper articles can (1) provide
urban planners with an overview of newspaper mentions of any specific urban areas,
(2) support the identification of local debates, and (3) aid in the observation of emerging
places of sociocultural interactions. This approach can support the diverse government
and non-government stakeholders engaged in data-based governance to better account
for intangible sociocultural aspects of urban life.