Percepción y uso social de una transformación urbana a través del social media. Las setas gigantes de la calle San Francisco

Abstract

The analysis of the urban public space from a perceptual dimension has traditionally been used to recognise its uniqueness and to identify which of its physical qualities promote activity and livability. This approach is particularly relevant in transformed urban settings. The perceived image of a space allows an assessment of the extent to which the social dynamics have been modified since its regeneration. Under this premise, the aim of this paper is to study urban life after the transformation of Calle San Francisco, in Alicante, Spain, into a recreational and thematic space characterised by giant mushrooms. In order to accomplish this objective, three indicators of public life were evaluated: the building’s economic activities before and after the intervention; the social use of the new space and the resulting public image —or perceived image—. A hybrid methodology is used which combines data collected from field work with data retrieved from technological sources —the social network Instagram and the web service Google Street View—. The overall results demonstrated that the use of both offline and online data enables confirmation, complementation and questioning of the partial results obtained from each method. Thus, it was evidenced that not only has the physical identity of Calle San Francisco been substantially modified, but also, its collective image in relation to the rest of the city. All in all, this research proves the relevance of understanding the complexity of today’s physical and virtual social relations resulting from the transformation of an urban setting.