Urban Human Dynamics

AbstractUrban areas are places where people concentrate in a relatively high density built environment to carry out a wide range of activities. Each urban area should provide adequate infrastructure and services to support the needs of its population. Since various resources, services, and facilities are at different locations, urban areas manifest a complex system of flows of people, goods, and information to support the economic, social, cultural, and political systems in human society. These activities, flows, and systems are driven by various processes and exhibit various spatiotemporal patterns that are the outcomes of human dynamics. However, how we investigate the various dynamic processes and complex systems in urban areas has been and continues to be a challenging research topic. Urban human dynamics cover multiple aspects and can be studied from different perspectives. This chapter discusses urban dynamics and human dynamics in terms of their respective approaches and methods, along with some selected examples. It then connects urban human dynamics research with urban informatics to highlight their relationships and how together they could lead to urban areas that can better serve human needs and improve the quality of life.