Digital technologies and big data are transforming many aspects of urban society and daily lives,which is becoming a new growth area for research in human geography as well as other fields of social sciences.In order to explore the latest international hotspots of urban social geography in the digital context,this article started from the digital lives and data-driven smart urbanism research of Rob Kitchin,a professor of geography and former director of the Maynooth University Social Sciences Institute at Maynooth University in Ireland,and examined his main contributions to seek inspiration and Chinese orientation for urban social geography from a Western perspective.First,we carried out a path and network analysis of the academic career,research content,and their relationships of Rob Kitchin.Second,this article elaborated his academic views,theoretical methodologies,and practical applications from the perspectives of digital lives and smart urbanism.The article also interpreted the core theoretical perspectives of slow computing and explored cutting-edge themes in the smart life,including data theory,humanization of algorithms,and the interaction between urban technology and social lives.Finally,we drew a critical conclusion and pointed out the relevant research issues that need to be discussed urgently,such as data coupling,data sharing,and digital inclusion,among others.Additionally,the article provided some insights into the development of urban social geography,urban planning,and Chinese avenues for contemporaneous research.
Rob Kitchindigital livesdata-driven smart urbanismurban social geographyChinese orientation
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
