IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v120y2022ics0264837722002587.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The limits of spatial data? Sense-making within the development and different uses of Finnish urban-rural classification

Author

Listed:
  • Saastamoinen, Uula
  • Vikström, Suvi
  • Helminen, Ville
  • Lyytimäki, Jari
  • Nurmio, Kimmo
  • Nyberg, Elina
  • Rantala, Salla

Abstract

In order to formulate relevant understanding of key sustainability challenges, evidence-based decision-making relies on comprehensive data. While the complexity of producing and processing spatial data and the potential for biases are well recognised, the social process of making sense of data and its implications for societal uses is less analysed. In this article, insights of critical data studies are applied to study the production of, as well as uses and misuses of, the Finnish urban-rural classification. The classification structures Finland into three urban classes and four rural classes and offers an alternative to classifications that utilise administrative, municipal, and regional boundaries. The classification acts as a boundary object, functioning as a common reference for parties with varying information needs and interests. Using document analysis, as well as an insider action research methodology and our own experiences as data producers, this article aims to understand the processes of sense-making of data in the context of urban-rural classification and identify ways of improving related information systems and data practices. Intended and realised uses of the classification are analysed in order to identify different ways in which data producers and users make sense of data and justify the utilisation of the classification. The process of sense-making starts from the planning of data production and shapes how data and eventually information system are formulated throughout the data cycle. Communication about the limitations of the classification remains an issue and highlights the nature of sense-making as a collective process wherein users are actively shaping data practices as they translate information systems into their own contexts. This also draws attention to the nature of information systems as inherently unneutral, inevitably affected by negotiations shaped by the various information needs.

Suggested Citation

  • Saastamoinen, Uula & Vikström, Suvi & Helminen, Ville & Lyytimäki, Jari & Nurmio, Kimmo & Nyberg, Elina & Rantala, Salla, 2022. "The limits of spatial data? Sense-making within the development and different uses of Finnish urban-rural classification," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:120:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722002587
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106231
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722002587
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106231?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Toivo Muilu & Jarmo Rusanen, 2004. "Rural Definitions and Short-Term Dynamics in Rural Areas of Finland in 1989–97," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 36(8), pages 1499-1516, August.
    2. Mina Di Marino & Johanna Lilius & Kimmo Lapintie, 2018. "New forms of multi-local working: identifying multi-locality in planning as well as public and private organizations’ strategies in the Helsinki region," European Planning Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 26(10), pages 2015-2035, October.
    3. repec:eme:mrn000:01409170710746337 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Brennan Lowery & John Dagevos & Ratana Chuenpagdee & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1813-1826, November.
    5. Mortoja, Md. Golam & Yigitcanlar, Tan & Mayere, Severine, 2020. "What is the most suitable methodological approach to demarcate peri-urban areas? A systematic review of the literature," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hervé Corvellec & Johan Hultman & Anne Jerneck & Susanne Arvidsson & Johan Ekroos & Niklas Wahlberg & Timothy W. Luke, 2021. "Resourcification: A non‐essentialist theory of resources for sustainable development," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(6), pages 1249-1256, November.
    2. Nancy Andrea Ramírez-Agudelo & Roger Porcar Anento & Miriam Villares & Elisabet Roca, 2020. "Nature-Based Solutions for Water Management in Peri-Urban Areas: Barriers and Lessons Learned from Implementation Experiences," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-36, November.
    3. Brinkley, Catherine & Raj, Subhashni, 2022. "Perfusion and urban thickness: The shape of cities," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    4. Hua Xia & Shidong Ge & Xinyu Zhang & Gunwoo Kim & Yakai Lei & Yang Liu, 2021. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Green Infrastructure in an Agricultural Peri-Urban Area: A Case Study of Baisha District in Zhengzhou, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-21, July.
    5. Sofia Morgado, 2021. "Urban Rehabilitation, Social Innovation, and New Working Spaces in Lisbon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-14, October.
    6. Enrico Gottero & Claudia Cassatella & Federica Larcher, 2021. "Planning Peri-Urban Open Spaces: Methods and Tools for Interpretation and Classification," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Joanna Wiśniewska-Paluszak & Grzegorz Paluszak, 2021. "The Urban and Peri-Urban Farms (UPFs) Relational Model: The Case of Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-21, May.
    8. Diane Pearson, 2021. "Lifestyle Properties, Ecosystem Services, and Biodiversity Protection in Peri-Urban Aotearoa–New Zealand: A Case Study from Peri-Urban Palmerston North," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, December.
    9. Nelunika Priyashani & Nayomi Kankanamge & Tan Yigitcanlar, 2023. "Multisource Open Geospatial Big Data Fusion: Application of the Method to Demarcate Urban Agglomeration Footprints," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-23, February.
    10. Purvis, Ben & Genovese, Andrea, 2023. "Better or different? A reflection on the suitability of indicator methods for a just transition to a circular economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    11. Baldwin, Claudia & Hamerlinck, Jeff & McKinlay, Anna, 2023. "Institutional support for building resilience within rural communities characterised by multifunctional land use," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    12. Vasco Barbosa & Inés Santé-Riveira & Rafael Crecente-Maseda & Carlos Díaz Redondo & Juan Porta Trinidad & Jorge Parapar López & Ramón Doallo Biempica & José Ambrósio Ferreira Neto, 2022. "A New Spatial Criteria Method to Delimit Rural Settlements towards Boundaries Equity: Land Use Optimization for Decision Making in Galicia, NW Spain," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-19, May.
    13. Enrico Gottero & Federica Larcher & Claudia Cassatella, 2023. "Defining and Regulating Peri-Urban Areas through a Landscape Planning Approach: The Case Study of Turin Metropolitan Area (Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, January.
    14. Mouratidis, Kostas & Peters, Sebastian, 2022. "COVID-19 impact on teleactivities: Role of built environment and implications for mobility," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 251-270.
    15. Valentina Cattivelli, 2022. "Delimiting Rural Areas: Evidence from the Application of Different Methods Elaborated by Italian Scholars," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-21, September.
    16. Dadashpoor, Hashem & Ahani, Somayeh, 2021. "Explaining objective forces, driving forces, and causal mechanisms affecting the formation and expansion of the peri-urban areas: A critical realism approach," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    17. Tan Yigitcanlar & Federico Cugurullo, 2020. "The Sustainability of Artificial Intelligence: An Urbanistic Viewpoint from the Lens of Smart and Sustainable Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-24, October.
    18. Jari Lyytimäki, 2023. "Storylines nailing or failing sustainability: Energy, mining and mobility as narrative arenas for societal transition," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(1), pages 170-179, February.
    19. Amila Jayasinghe & Lindamullage Don Charls Hasintha Nawod Kalpana & Charithmali Chethika Abenayake & Pelpola Kankanamge Seneviratne Mahanama, 2021. "Urban Boundary Demarcation—An iCN Model Approach," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, November.
    20. Ana Paula Morais de Lima & Aline F. Rodrigues & Agnieszka Ewa Latawiec & Viviane Dib & Fernanda D. Gomes & Veronica Maioli & Ingrid Pena & Fernanda Tubenchlak & Alanna J. Rebelo & Karen J. Esler & Amy, 2022. "Framework for Planning and Evaluation of Nature-Based Solutions for Water in Peri-Urban Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:120:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722002587. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.