Academic background:

B.A - Political Science and European Studies, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

MM.A - Urban and Regional Planning, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology

Research

Title: Identify Parameters for Evaluating Human Activity Patterns in Urban Parks Using Big Data

Advisors: Prof. Pnina Plaut and Dr. Dalit Shach-Pinsly

Description: Although various aspects have been widely investigated in the context of evaluating urban parks, little attention has been paid to the parameters to evaluate human activities in urban parks.  Furthermore, most studies evaluating urban parks have relied on questionnaires, observations, and post-occupancy evaluation methods. These methods are limited regarding the spatial and temporal dimensions and the size of the sample under investigation.

In this research, we developed a new approach to evaluate activity patterns of urban parks using big data extracted from CCTV (closed-circuit television) cameras. The cameras are located in urban parks in Or-Yehuda, Israel. The CCTV footage is analyzed in relation to four characteristics of the parks’ users as follows: (1) sex, (2) age, (3) activity type, and (4) group size, along with spatial and temporal analysis. Thus, activities during different hours of the day, weekdays vs. weekends, and seasons of the year in various parts of the park are identified.

As many cities seek to design better urban parks tailored to their residents' needs, these research findings can contribute to planning decisions by paving the way to customizing the design of urban parks in accordance with the revealed behavior and preferences of various population characteristics. Additionally, this research may provide new insights for future planning and design in the realm of smart cities. Because smart cities aim to optimize the efficiency of the city’s technological infrastructures, such as CCTV camera infrastructures that are commonly used as a security system, they can also benefit from this research as a potential new research direction for utilizing cameras for planning decisions and policymaking.

Keywords: Urban parks, Evaluation, Parameters, Activity patterns, Big data

 

Career ambitions

I am interested in connecting urban park design, urban tech, and data-based planning.

As a graduate of the local government cadet program, I gained an understanding of the Israeli planning process as well as the different needs of communities and individuals in urban environments.

Men will feel safe in places where women don't,

children will play in places where seniors feel danger,

singles will be bored in places where parents will be restful...

Each of us has different needs when visiting urban parks; understanding the different needs and designing according to them is my motivation.