Who uses the space – and how is this communicated digitally? A new analysis by the IOER, developed in close collaboration with Prof. Catrin Schmidt from the Institute of Landscape Architecture at TUD Dresden University of Technology, visualises over 66 million public social media posts from 15 years. The result is a high-resolution map of Germany that shows where locals relax and which destinations tourists like to visit. The map was published in the December issue of “Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung” (Nature Conservation and Landscape Planning). The underlying anonymised data is made available by the IOER for further use.
Where locals relax and travellers flock – A new map of digital traces for Germany
Under the heading “Digital Traces in the Landscape,” researchers from IOER and TUD are offering a new perspective on the use of urban and natural spaces in Germany. The database is based on social media posts, for example on the platforms Flickr, Instagram, Twitter/X and iNaturalist. 66 million georeferenced social media posts, i.e. posts with GPS data, on popular destinations from 2007 to 2022 were included in the analysis.
The result is a map of Germany covered with blue and red dots. Red dots represent social media posts by tourists from outside Germany, while blue dots represent posts by locals. This digital echo reveals which places and landscapes receive particular attention in digital communication. “The map paints a diverse picture of land use,” explains Alexander Dunkel from the IOER. “In the centres of large cities such as Berlin, Hamburg or Munich, dense clouds of red dots often form, meaning that it is mainly tourists who report on the sights there. On the outskirts of the city and in the surrounding area, however, blue dots dominate, meaning that it was mainly locals who were active there. This is a sign of the role that the surrounding area plays in local recreation,” says Alexander Dunkel, interpreting the results.
Various insights can also be gained from the blue and red point clouds for rural areas. As a rule, locals dominate communication via social media here. However, prominent tourist attractions are also visible – such as the Harz Mountains, Saxon Switzerland, the Elbe Cycle Route, long-distance hiking trails and the German coastal regions.
Information for urban and landscape planning
This information is invaluable for sustainable spatial development. For example, it can help to quickly identify where sensitive natural areas are at risk of excessive use. After all, what is communicated on digital platforms such as Instagram or Flickr can have a massive impact in reality. The echo in the digital world is often followed by a rush of visitors in the real world. But it would also make sense to integrate geovisual analyses of these new data sources into other planning contexts. “The new findings could close a gap between the goals of public planning and the lived reality of the population by making the subjective appreciation of the population visible in detail and on a comprehensive basis. This offers the opportunity for a more equitable and participatory planning process that also takes into account the qualities of spaces as perceived and experienced by diverse user groups in everyday life,” explains Alexander Dunkel.
Data use without privacy risks
In order to make data from social media usable for planning in an ethical and legally compliant manner, particular care must be taken when collecting and evaluating it. Researchers at the IOER and TUD have developed an approach that enables such data analysis in compliance with data protection regulations. The procedure only provides aggregated and anonymised patterns that do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about the individual communication of specific persons.
The data underlying the map with the digital traces in the landscape, as well as information on its collection, aggregation and visualisation, are available as a replication package in IOER’s research data repository (ioerDATA). This means they can be reused for further scientific and planning work.
Original publication (in German)
Dunkel, Alexander; Schmidt, Catrin; Wende, Wolfgang; Nieswand, Maria:
Digitale Spuren in der Landschaft. Ein neuer Blick auf Naturräume durch Soziale Medien. [Part of series „Landschaft und Natur in Karten“ edited by Walz, Ulrich (HTW Dresden); Wende, Wolfgang; Meinel, Gotthard (both IOER)] In: Naturschutz und Landschaftsplanung (Nature Conservation and Landscape Planning). 57 (2025) 12, S. 38-39.
Data basis
Replication package for: Digital Landscape Traces – Locals and Tourists in Germany Map
(part of IOER’s research data repository ”ioerDATA“)
Scientific contact at the IOER
Dr. Alexander Dunkel, e-mail: a.dunkel@ioer.de
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