Tracking Visitors in Public Parks: Experiences with GPS in Denmark

Experiences with GPS in Denmark

Abstract

Very little scientific research based upon GPS tracking in a Danish context has been conducted and up until the present, no research at all has included comprehensive GPS tracking of human activity (cf. Jensen & Guldager, 2005; Jensen, 2003). There is therefore a need for explorative studies evaluating different tracking hardware and methodological set-ups and identifying various difficulties that may arise during data collection. From 2003 up to the present, the Diverse Urban Space (DUS) research project has conducted various experiments with the use of GPS tracking as a survey instrument relevant to urban planning. This work has involved cases including the simple testing of equipment and both small and large scale surveys.

This chapter will first provide a concise overview of the different surveys and tests conducted within the DUS and briefly explain the main methodological experiences. Hereafter, a specific case in which GPS technology is applied to track the movements of park visitors will be dealt with in more detail with regards to the methodological set-up, results and applied hardware.

in addition to the explanation of the general surveying technique and the results, one park in particular is used to illustrate a simple analysis of how Google Earth may be used in connection with real time visualisation undertaken on the basis of GPS tracking. Lastly, conclusions drawn from the park surveys and a number of more general conclusions on the basis of various other surveys are provided.