Exploring the intersection of cyberspace and urban geography: The influence of instagram's #Bookgarden on the popularity dynamics of Tehran's urban spaces

<ns3:p>Background Latest technological developments make it possible to extract unstructured data from the online world, enabling researchers to uncover important correlations between cyberspace and real space in order to evaluate urban environments. Instagram, by its geotag and hashtag features, provides a formidable database of the sort, in which user activity can strongly impact the salience of material loci. The study aimed at determining and calculating the Tehran Book Garden urban space’s popularity by using the #bookgarden hashtag and geolocations of the active Instagram userbase. Techniques The data were gathered on Instagram via the Application Programming Interface (API) and then analyzed via spatial networking on geographical mappings. Key variables included the geo-coordinate positions of posts, concentration of user activity, and time-based trends. The interpolation method was then used in determining regions that have unusual patterns of networking based on the hashtag and determining the area of influence most actively engaged. Results and Conclusions The study showed that central and southeastern regions of Tehran exhibited highest levels of virtual activity concerning the Book Garden. Using a triangulation-based interpolation method, the study traced a specific zone of influence, acknowledging the spatial location of the Book Garden and neighboring culture districts as a “hidden layer” having a significant impact (Level 4) on the space’s popularness. The study showed that peak activity was at 4 PM, and access issues were correlated with lower popularness during evening hours. This work presents a novel and reliable methodology for determining the attractiveness of cityscapes through social media data, thus providing a reproducible template for later research in the context of urban geography.</ns3:p>