01514333

Component

https://doi.org/10.3141/2453-11

Several studies have emphasized the role of social media in public involvement during planning, construction, and operation of infrastructure. Social media can offer optimal, bidirectional communication with the public and an efficient flow of information and feedback between decision makers and project end users. However, the underlying social networks formed in the background of public relations processes on online social media largely have been neglected. Such networks are referred to as infrastructure discussion networks (IDN) and can be rich sources of information for decision makers. If it can be proved that these networks follow the general behavior of social networks, then rich tools developed in social network analysis can be used to profile users and help decision makers study user attitudes. This paper compares the IDNs of four light rail transit projects in various cities in the United States and Canada and studies them under the microscope of social network analysis. The study shows that IDNs exhibit the general structure of social networks (such as small-world behavior, scale-free degree distribution, and high clustering). The IDNs also include meaningful communities, detection and evaluation of which could lead to more efficient offline and online public involvement processes. Given the recent trends in presence of infrastructure projects on online social media, the methods presented in this paper can be readily applied by practitioners to improve their public engagement practices.

01556364

14-0516

English

pp 84–93

2014

Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board

9780309295468

Print

Figures (2) ; References (32) ; Tables (3)

Attitudes; Decision making; Light rail transit; Public relations; Social media

Infrastructure Discussion Networks

Social network analysis

Canada; United States

Planning and Forecasting; Public Transportation; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning

TRIS, TRB, ATRI

Jan 27 2014 2:15PM

• Bridging the Gap Between the New Urbanist Ideas and Transportation Planning Practice
• Connection Between Built Environment and Travel Behavior: Propensity Score Approach Under a Continuous Treatment Regime
• Effects of Land Use Patterns on Tour Type Choice: Application of a Hybrid Choice Model
• Effects of Rail Transit on Residential Property Values: Comparison Study on the Rail Transit Lines in Houston, Texas, and Shanghai, China
• Effects of Urban Fabric Changes on Real Estate Property Tax Revenue: Evidence from Six American Cities
• Expanding a Municipal Bikeshare System into an Urban National Park Through Community Partnerships: City of San Antonio, Texas, and San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
• Exploring Future Transport Demand in the United States: Scenario-Based Approach for 2030
• From Car-Dependent Neighborhoods to Walkers’ Paradise: Estimating Walkability Premiums in the Condominium Housing Market
• Incorporating Costs of Life-Cycle Impacts into Transportation Program Development
• Managing the Indirect Impacts of Bypasses on Small and Medium-Sized Communities in Florida
• Megaregion Planning: State of Practice in Metropolitan Planning Organizations and State Departments of Transportation
• Operationalizing Land Use Diversity at Varying Geographic Scales and Its Connection to Mode Choice: Evidence from Portland, Oregon
• Opportunities for Programming Suburban Multimodal Transportation Retrofits Through the Maintenance Program: Case Study on Bicycle Accommodations
• Origins of Metropolitan Transportation Planning and the Urban Stakes of Interstate Highway Funding, 1956–1962
• Peak Vehicle Miles Traveled and Postpeak Consequences?
• Quantifying the Self-Selection Effects in Residential Location Choice with a Structural Equation Model
• Reasoning-Building Process for Transportation Project Evaluation and Decision Making: Use of Reasoning Map and Evidence Theory
• Supply Chain–Consistent Threshold Accessibility Measures for Megaregion Economic Development
• Sustainability Tools in Action: Reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled Through Coordinated Transportation and Land Use Planning Across Levels of Government
• Transportation Scholars: The Legacy, The Future