Revealing Urban Activity Patterns Around Metro Stations through Social Media Network Data

Stations on the metro system are important transportation hubs that handle a large number of the daily trip. Through the metro stations that facilitate pedestrian mobility and serve as a magnet for businesses, public transportation systems have the potential to alter the character of a community depending on the circumstances. Using location-based social network (LBSN) data, this study aims to quantify the area surrounding metro stations and metro lines, as well as to conduct a cluster analysis of Istanbul metro stations based on the pattern of LBSN data to gain insights into the characteristics of each station's surrounding area. To this end, the Foursquare venue data were gathered using the Foursquare API database. Then the data was cleaned and categorized based on the main activity and mapped in ArcGIS pro. K means cluster analysis was performed based on different venue activities around each station. Based on various venue activities, 77 Metro stations are classified into three types, namely undeveloped stations, developed stations, and touristic stations. The majority of stations were placed in undeveloped groups with a low activity level. The developed stations are mainly located in the commercial and touristic areas.